Sleeper Akuma
by KaliAnn
Summary: Hawkmoth is getting extremely frustrated that none of his Akuma's have succeeded in capturing Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous. With some forced help by his Kwamii, the villain begins experimenting to create stronger akumas. When he stumbles on the perfect one he decides to test it on Marinette! With some help from Peace Keeper, can Chat Noir save his partner? Part 2 of a trilogy
1. Hawkmoth's Experiments

**Hello and welcome to the second part of my trilogy. I welcome new and old reviewers. I will make this as accurate as possible. I would also like to take the time to dedicate this story to one my faithful readers, who is a true inspiration to others, LilytheNinjaGirl. Enjoy the story.**

* * *

In a dark room the sounds of flapping wings could be heard. A window opened just enough to let light in revealing hundreds of white butterflies. Standing in the midst of the room, Hawkmoth had a scowl on his face. He gripped his cane tightly as he gazed upon his flutter. Suddenly, he lashed out with the cane and killed one of the butterflies, causing the others to scatter.

Needing to work out his frustrations, he started to do _Canne de combat,_ a martial arts form that was invented in France itself that used the cane in self-defense and a fun sport. Twirling the cane around, he switched hands going back and forth striking out with strong horizontal strokes and quick taps to an imaginary target scoring points. He did an elegant _latéral extérieur_ followed by a _latéral croisé._ He evaded and parried a blow and twisted about doing a backwards lunge called an _arriére_. With a final thrust, he slammed the cane down on the floor returning to a balanced stance. Hawkmoth clearly was a Yellow Pommel, the highest rank a person could have, in this sport.

Just like Ladybug and Chat Noir's weapons, his also had many features. The cane crystal top had many uses. It had GPS tracking, Internet connection, and could be used to communicate with people, if he wasn't an evil villain. The cane had a unique feature, and it wasn't that it could hold onto akumas who had been released, but not cleansed. The crystal top could play back any Akuma attack, if he was trying to create champions, this feature would have helped him decide if he needed a past champion to help, instead he used this feature to try to figure out ways to improve his akumas.

The crystal lit up as he projected his latest Akumas for him to review. Kung Food, Gamer, Animan. Then there was Vanisher and Antibug, along with Puppeteer and his last one Reflekta. Each of them had some fatal flaw that prevent them from claiming Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous. What did it take to make a perfect akuma?

"Kung Food, using food as weapons, failed to hold either hero long enough to succeed. Gamer first defeat was what led to his ultimate failure. Animan wasted time going after that stupid kid and should have picked better animals. Vanisher, I should have given her more strength and Antibug, while creative, fell for a simple distraction. Ah Puppeteer, so close to victory. She should have taken control of Ladybug the second she got the doll! Reflekta acted to quickly without thinking things through. Why, why is this so hard?"

The images disappeared, each had a fatal flaw, sometimes it was their powers or other times, his Akumas didn't act on his orders quickly enough. Finding the right person to turn also caused a problem. "The stronger the emotion, the stronger the akuma. I need to find people whose negative emotions are overwhelming!" Pausing for a moment he raised his cane projecting a unique Akuma attack, the one with Emperor.

Watching the projection, Hawkmoth lips formed a tight frown as his eyes narrowed. His posture straightened up even more. His gloved hands wrapped tightly around the cane. Even his butterflies had moved away not wanting to get close to their angry keeper.

Pressing down on the pommel he paused the projection. Emperor had gathered his forces for the first time and had been pushing the police back forcing them into hasty retreat. Isolating one corner of the projection; Hawkmoth's eyes narrowed onto the woman in the corner of the picture. "Hmm, this woman used pouches of mixed plants and they worked. I don't understand, my Akumas have trampled through several plants before and they never weakened."

"Ordinary objects, Nooroo mentioned that they have magical power. Why? People wear necklaces all the time, mix up food for eating. So why didn't they work before? Could it be that you need to believe in their supposed power to make them work?" He mused.

It would a logical answer considering a majority of the world didn't believe in real magic anymore. He certainly hadn't believed in it a first. If that was the truth he'd have to scan his victims minds more closely to see if they knew anyone who truly believed in magic.

"Fast forward and show me Emperor's meeting on the Arc de Triumph." In a second the projection changed to show the meeting from Emperor's point of view. Stroking his fingers over the crystal, the projection split, so he had a wide area view of the meeting, alongside Emperor's Pov. Resuming play for the original projection he watched the events again.

Peace Keeper at first glance resembled a Miraculous wielder, but her clothing didn't seem to be based on any animal. "This woman, she can't be the same person who Emperor tried to kill earlier after his capture. The liaison had a different facial and body structure. Height can be manipulated, but not to degree between Ms. Gardien and this Peace Keeper," he muttered to himself. He heard himself speaking to Emperor and Nooroo's pleas that he had listened to.

"I was a fool to listen to Nooroo's excessive chatter. He is bound to me and yet he refuses to share all his knowledge. This Peace Keeper, I need to know more about her." He played the wide area view watching as the special agent seamlessly fell into a rhythm with Ladybug and Chat Noir. Her training looked professional and she carried herself with unquestionable pride.

"Still, if she is a special agent with the government, why hasn't she been utilized before? They waited until the President was in danger, could it be that she's only supposed to help if the President is in danger?" It would explain why all other video evidence of her had been edited so no one knew about her existence and the police no longer remembered she had been there.

"How was she able to create that shield if she doesn't have a Miraculous? She was holding something in her hands and I need to know what. If she owns something similar then I need it to prevent her from using its power against me. Its power might even increase my own."

* * *

Laughing evilly, he got rid of the projections. His flutter of butterflies came closer swirling around him. "Soon my pets, with your help, I'll become the most powerful person in the world. Right now, I need to interrogate a little butterfly. Nooroo, wings closed!" In a flash of purple, Nooroo appeared as he tiredly landed in his master's hands. He knew as soon as they stepped out of the light that things were going to be very bad for him.

"Master, how can I help you today?" the weakened Kwamii asked in a weak and raspy tone. His breathing was heavy and he struggled to get enough air in to is lungs. He was a very sick Kwamii that needed to be healed. If only he could trick Hawkmoth to take him to Master Fu, without revealing him as the Great Guardian!

Even in the dark and in civilian form ,Hawkmoth was a very intimidating person, whose voice chilled one's heart. "Nooroo, you will answer _all_ my questions. No matter what they are understand?"

The mauve creature nodded his head. While he was bound to his Miraculous and the person who wield it, he didn't have to answer or tell the man everything, as long as he paid attention to how Hawkmoth _worded_ the question. It was a loophole that all Kwamiis, especially Plagg, took advantage of to protect their chosen, or in Plagg's case, not have to put in a full effort with his "kittens" until much later in life.

"I grow weary of this game, I demand you tell me the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

Nooroo repeated his typical response. That all Kwamiis were magically bound to never reveal the identities of their chosen, not even to other Miraculous wielders. Only if the person revealed themselves or were seen during the transformation process, would the glamor fail.

His master shook him angrily. "What do you know of the other Miraculous?"

"That there are seven of them and each has a different power and is used by a different Kwamii. Only in times of great need have all seven been used in the same place." Nooroo coughed as he struggled to breathe again. His head was pounding and felt as if he would pass out and never awaken again. "Please Master. I need…something…to eat."

The man in the shadows stared at the little Kwamii trying to tell if the creature was lying or not. With some reluctance, he set the little guy down on the hidden table. and pulled some yogurt out of his pocket and spoon fed the creature. After eating a full container Nooroo felt better than he had in a long time. He was still weak and his breathing wasn't very steady, but he would be able to answer more questions.

"I've indulged you enough, now tell me something useful I can use to capture Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous?" He pressed his thumb against Nooroo throat threatening to cut off the Kwamii's breathing. Frightened, the little Kwamii revealed more than he wanted to.

The human listened closely as he learned that each Kwamii had their own special food. Ladybug's liked sweet treats, especially cookies. Chat Noir's greedily ate cheese wheels by the dozen, the smellier the better. Pressing harder on the Kwamii neck revealed that Ladybug and Chat Noir, when they worked together never lost and often they were fated to be soulmates to one another. Depending on the combination most Miraculous users found someone they were fated to meet, whether it was their best friend, soulmate, or just a companion on this adventure.

"You have told me a great deal Nooroo. I might even reward you later with more food and some time out of the Miraculous, however I feel you're not being fully honest with my questions," Hawkmoth hissed. His butterflies swirled around faster and faster making him look more menacing. "You've avoided giving me answers far too did that liaison know your name and that so called magical items would have an effect on my Akumas? Who is this Peace Keeper and where did she obtain the power of a Miraculous? How can I make myself stronger! "

"There are myths and legends based on our animals, and all of them contain some grains of truth in them. Our chosen, including you, pick up habits from them the longer we are bonded. You're bold and flashy with your Akumas, like a butterfly with warning colors showing you're not afraid of anything. As a civilian, you have a unique perception of the world.

It's very likely that the liaison stumbled across a book of old tales that mentioned me and she took a guess when she spoke. Maybe she's one of those practitioners of Wicca and that's why she had magical objects and potions. As for Peace Keeper? I don't know who she _really_ is. I know she doesn't own the Turtle _Miraculous_. There are a lot of other magical objects, such as, amulets, talismans, _charms_ , out there in the world. Maybe she bought one that was real?"

Nooroo panted and this time it wasn't because he couldn't breathe. The Kwamii charms had been created a thousand years after the Miraculous in order to protect the box when they slept. The charms activated and channeled a portion of their power to keep the box safe, or the Great Guardian and his/her apprentice, could use the charms to fight, if neither had a Miraculous.

Daring to look his master in the eye, he was troubled by what he saw. There was a dark and cold look to them. His head was tilted a bit, like he was thinking about something. Unconsciously he started to squeeze Nooroo tightly.

So to increase my powers, I need to study myths and stories with butterflies in them. I'm sure to find a common link between them. When I do, I'll implement a new plan and use Nooroo's powers to create the deadliest akumas ever. So dangerous that Ladybug and Chat Noir will give up their Miraculous to prevent Paris from becoming a crater of ash, he thought to himself. "Thank you for your help Nooroo. You can stay out today and have a bit more yogurt in a bit."

"Thank you Master, I'm happy to help in whatever way I can," Nooroo mumbled. Inside, he hoped that his master never put the pieces together to figure out how to make stronger Akumas.

* * *

That night, Hawkmoth left his lair, went to his private library, and shut the doors to his study. Turning on a single lamp, the man opened up a book of legends and started to read up on his Kwamii's animal. Finding the grains of truth would be a wonderful challenge.

Flipping the pages he came to a stop at the sight of a beautiful illustration. It showed an Aztec temple with the souls of woman who had died during childbirth. On top of the temple stood a scary, yet beautiful butterfly like goddess named Itzpapalotil. Her obsidian wings were stretched wide open. Her claw hands looked intimidating and her skeletal body was covered in a cloak of stars, rumored to give her the power of invisibility. Butterflies and fire framed her head. The capitation read: _Goddess Itzpapalotil welcoming the cihuateteo to Tamoanchan._

Hawkmoth's fingers scrolled down the page as read out loud in a soft voice to himself. " _The Goddess Itzpapalotil was one of the most important goddess in Aztec mythology. She had two forms, in Tamoanchan she appeared as a beautiful seductive woman who cared for all the souls in her land. Yet, if touched, she would angrily revert to her skeletal form where she carried stone knives that popped out of her wings. Her symbols included butterflies, birds, and fire. Her nagual form was that of deer. Both feared and worshiped, she was one of the most diverse Aztec goddess."_

The pages continued to talk about stories of the different gods and goddess in the Aztec parathion. Most of the stories he deemed unimportant. His eyes were drawn to recovered relics from the ancient temples. Hawkmoth's eyes twinkled darkly at a picture of an ancient urn, which had a painting of the goddess on it. This one was different because the artist had painted the Itzpapalotil wearing a butterfly broach. This was the grain of truth he'd been looking for. A past Miraculous wielder!

"So, at some point a chosen used their powers to gain power over mortals. Let's see how other native tribes saw butterflies," he whispered in delight as he turned on his copier. Once he finished he returned to the book.

Native tribes had several similar beliefs. Native American Indian legends told that butterflies would carry the wishes to the Great Spirit in heaven to be granted and the Zuni believed butterflies started as pebbles transformed by the Great Spirit and that white butterflies predicated the start of summer. Blackfeet Natives believed that dreams were delivered by butterflies while the Hopi danced for their beloved Butterfly Kachina that had its own special song. The picture of the Kachina dancer dressed as the Butterfly revealed another glimpse of the Miraculous.

Hawkmoth almost tossed one book on religious beliefs away, not seeing how it could have anything to do with his agenda. Still the picture of butterflies in Purgatory made him read a few pages.

" _The ancients Greeks believed the butterfly was the inner personification of a person's mortal soul, derived from the myth of Psyche. As religious conversion took place the butterfly continued to be seen a creature of the soul, either carrying souls to children about to be born or taking them away to the next life. The metamorphous of the butterfly is seen as birth, death, and resurrection in many different religious faiths. This close symbolism meant that the creatures were greatly protected and feared ensuring their continuous survival."_

"Until humans decided their food and homes are wasted resources to use. That's what makes some butterflies endanger or go extinct."

The human was too involved in his research to notice the hours passing or notice a nervous Nooroo hiding behind a nameplate peering at his master. His sharp hearing heard the man talking about how each culture saw the creature with different symbolism. For example, to the Chinese the butterfly was a simple of great joy, while in Japan it was associated with vanity.

"He's learning and it won't be long until he starts experimenting. So many beauties, (his nickname for the butterflies in the flitter), will die. Why was I cursed with this evil master? I'm losing hope to teach him to use the Miraculous for good not evil." Hearing his master call for him, the mauve Kwamii fluttered into the air and landed in the man's palm.

"Thank you for your help Nooroo. You see, when we work together, doesn't it benefit you as well?" Nooroo nodded his head miserably as Hawkmoth looked at the dawn. "Paris better enjoy its short reprieve from my Akumas. When my new ones emerge not even Ladybug or Chat Noir can stop me!"

* * *

With Hawkmoth's vast resources, he was able to purchase several different indoor butterfly gardens, each containing a different type of butterfly from parts of France. As Nooroo feared, Hawkmoth had stumbled on a way to increase his power, use different species of butterflies. Normally, the wielder of the Butterfly Miraculous would use only one species of butterfly to grant powers to a Champion, the preferable color being white. Using several different kinds at once usually had very mixed and sometimes dangerous results.

Hawkmoth was busy setting up his little gardens. Each garden contained at least six to seven eggs in each of them, which meant he would have a whole new flitter to command, even if they wouldn't all grow at the same rate. Fine by him, he needed the time to experiment and see which stock could handle his dark power and if he could make them give people specific powers, even if they weren't feeling emotionally vulnerable.

Using an artificial sunlamp, he started working on the first garden, which contained the eggs of a Damon Blue. He covered the pot with fresh sainfons for the caterpillars to eat. Strategically placing the sticks he built a little row for the chrysalises to hang from. He watered the plants and adjusted the pot so the right amount of sunlight would hit the plants. Before zipping up the mesh cage, he infected each egg with a bit of darkness. Placing a picture of what the butterfly should look like next it, he wrote Experiment One on a label.

Experiment Two didn't have any eggs, but live caterpillars due the nature of the Brown Hairstreak. That species laid their eggs in late August, which hatched in spring. At the moment the little caterpillars were enjoying the leaves of the blackthorn bush. Touching the caterpillars, he imbued them with darkness before drawing power from Nooroo. He didn't have time to wait for them to go through their cycle naturally, so they would mature a bit faster than normal.

Experiment Three, Purple Emperor, would be another slightly rushed one with them hatching much quicker than usual. At least this one was easy to care for as they fed on aphid honeydew, which he had already lined up. He was going to infect the chrysalis to see how the dark energy would affect the transformation. He made sure that the leaf litter on the ground covered up the tiny little dug up areas. He wasn't about to let ants into his home, even if they helped bury the pupa, he could do that himself.

Experiment Four, contained Pearl Bordered Fritillary butterflies. Hawkmoth cursed the European butterflies' strange life cycle. They all seem to lay their eggs late and waiting until next year to hatch. Never the less he would only need to push the cycle a little bit. He intended to infect the eggs, caterpillar and the food source, (violets), and the chrysalis, to see how powerful an akuma it would make. Yes, this was going to be a great experiment.

 _"You can't rush Mother Nature Master. By using part of my power to speed up their life cycle, many of these beauties will die before they reach adulthood. Can you not leave them alone?"_

 _"Nooroo be quiet, or I shall started destroying every precious beauty in this room! Rushing nature happens all the time and the results can be grand if done by the proper hands. I refuse to wait several months to a year to increase my power. Every day I don't have Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous, the harder it will be to achieve my dream!"_

 _"Master, you can't use an Akuma on a person who isn't feeling negative emotions. You said you intended these as experiments to be improvements, does that mean you are going to try using them on positive emotions?"_

 _"That is none of your concern Nooroo. All that matters is that you give me the power I need and obey my commands! If you try to withhold any power, you will see my true anger! Now be quiet!"_

As soon as Nooroo quieted down, Hawkmoth waved his cane around, before he tapped the mesh cages with the cane tip, as he channeled Nooroo power into the cages, to keep the gardens inside to grow at the same rate of the sped up life cycle. Soon one of the species would transform into a full adult and then he could test the different myths he read about. Then he could make his observations and determined the best Akuma among them, the one that would lead to the heroes defeat!

* * *

For a solid, week Hawkmoth attended to his gardens making sure that each one was growing and stable. Normally a bit more patient, the chance to increase his powers led him to speed up the process in Experiment One, seeing as how he intended to use it first. He took notes on each garden and the species as they moved through the life cycle faster than they were meant to.

"Experiment One is proceeding at a slightly sped up rate. Of the seven eggs I started with, five hatched healthy larva. For two days the caterpillars had explosive growth rate. Two of the caterpillars died before they reached the chrysalis stage. Of the remaining three, each entered the chrysalis a day apart. I'm starting to see degradation in one of the chrysalis, most likely indicating the death of the creature. Hopefully the other two mature into the adults I can use." Hawkmoth spoke into his tiny recorder. He was determined to document everything to see where he would go wrong and how to improve the experiments.

Turning his attention to Experiment Two, the man frowned. Even with the accelerated life cycle, the Brown Hairstreaks had yet to get out of their caterpillar stage. "The six caterpillars have eaten nearly half the blackthorn shrub and have molted at least three times. For some unknown reason they have yet to fall into the leaf litter in the pot. As soon as they do I will bury them and hope that they all survive. Nooroo believes that the accelerated growth might have been too much for the caterpillars and that some of them are in a coma waiting for death."

Picking up a pair of tweezers, he snagged one of the non-moving caterpillars and studied it up closely. He placed the specimen on a strip before placing it under the microscope as he sat down to exam it. Adjusting the setting he zoomed in and looked the caterpillar over. None of the legs were twitching and its color had dulled. Using a tool, he moved the specimen around and then found the hole in the caterpillar's body as its life leaked out. It was clearly dead.

He examined the remaining caterpillars and found only two alive. Both were moving around searching for more food. Checking on the health of the blackthorn, he placed the caterpillars on the leaves to continue to eat. "Introduction of darkness at the caterpillar stage, combined with the sped up cycle, has resulted in the death of four specimens. Introducing the darkness at this stage in life appears to result in mass casualties."

Rolling his seat away, turned to Experiment Three smiling at the sight before him. The Purple Emperors had all survived the egg and caterpillar stage. Seven healthy specimens were finishing creating their chrysalis. Taking a picture of the seven green chrysalis for a before picture he then slid his fingers watching them turn to purplish black. "The chrysalis stage has been successfully entered. Each of the seven specimens are still alive and have tolerated the infusion of darkness into them. I will closely monitor the metamorphosis of specimens to see how it effects them. My hope is that all of them will emerge alive."

Lastly he adjusted the sunlamp, to warm Experiment Four. The Pearl Bordered Fritillary were coming along nicely. "Experiment Four is having the least amount of problems. All six eggs have hatched and are doing well. The caterpillars remained alive after having another dose of darkness once they started feeding on the dark charged plants. A few of the caterpillars have fought one another for good food spots. This aggression is not normal, possibly has something to do with the accelerated growth. Admittedly, this Experiment is the one I look forward to using the most."

Leaving his butterfly gardens, he turned his attention to his flutter. They needed to be fed. Tapping his cane, a kaleidoscope of flowers emerged from a hidden panel. All the butterflies flew down and started enjoying their food, regaining their strength. The flutter needed to be on a strict schedule to keep them fueled and strong. Part of owning the Butterfly Miraculous was that you had to nurture your messengers so they stayed alive as long as possible.

" _How are they doing Nooroo? Do they need anything else?"_

" _Maybe a glimpse of the sun once and awhile. You have trapped the flutter for so long in the dark, they are forgetting what the warmth of the sun is."_

" _The only time they need to see the sun is when one is ready to turn into an Akuma. If these new Akumas workout, I might consider setting the flutter free, but that's a big if."_

Nooroo said nothing leaving his Master to his own thoughts. Shielding his own thoughts from his Master was getting harder to do, but it was necessary if the Kwamii wanted to survive. Only in this small part of his mind, could he call out for help, feel his fellow Kwamiis and their bonds. In this place, his power was his own to use. "Great Guardian, I wish you would find me and cleanse me of the evil I'm forced to create. I fear that soon I will lose part of myself if this continues." Crying a few emotional tears in the broach, the little Kwamii awaited to find out who he would end up hurting first.

* * *

Two days later, while Hawkmoth was out living his civilian life, Experiment One: the Damon Blues, the two chrysalises started to break open as the butterflies struggled to get out. The struggle was important because it forced the creature to work it's body harder so it could pump the blood needed to make the wings work quicker.

When Hawkmoth arrived later that night from his day job, he was very pleased to see the two male butterflies resting on the stick. Each one getting ready to flap their wings for the first time. "Ah my sweet little insects. You have come so far. Let me take a closer look before I unleash you to the prey I breed you for."

Both specimens had the usual dark blue spread across the top of their bodies, but there were splotches of purple on the wingtips and the border of the wings had partially turn purple. The underside that should have been brown and streaked appeared to be perfectly akuma like. The two butterflies practiced a few times flapping their wings. Soon both took to the air as they flew up to the top of the mesh cage.

"Yes, they have successfully reached adulthood. Now all I need to do is tell them were to find their prey." Reaching into the cage he cupped one of the butterflie's in his hands. It was truly a beautiful creature. Careful not press down to hard, he started feeding it a bit more darkness to create a perfect akuma when a tiny explosion took place in his gloved hands.

Even before he removed his gloved hands, he felt the sticky fluids spreading across his hands. Parts of the now dead specimen had splattered all over them. A growl started building up in his throat. Stomping his food like a child he demanded Nooroo to tell him what had just happened.

" _Butterflies are extremely fragile creatures, especially when they just emerged from their chrysalis and their wings need fluid to work. You only infected the egg, so only a bit of darkness remained as it grew. Probably it couldn't handle the immediate infusion of the darkness and exploded."_

" _Why didn't you inform me of this possibility before?"_

" _You never asked Master, but I promise you the last specimen should be able to handle the increased darkness as long as you go slowly."_ Internally Nooroo was cringing as he was forced to reveal this information. His master never seemed to listen to him before, but now Hawkmoth was doing exactly what he suggested slowly infecting the remaining specimens.

"Now it's time to show Paris that I have returned. Make me proud my little beauty. Infect someone that matches what I told you too look for. Now go!" Hawkmoth watched his new Akuma take off with a very wicked and Chat Noir would never see this attack coming.

* * *

Tonight was joint patrol as Chat Noir and Ladybug raced across the rooftops. Hawkmoth had been quiet ever since Refleckta. At first they hoped that Hawkmoth had gone into another "hibernation" period like before. Yet, their Kwamiis insisted that something bad was in the making and it would happen tonight. Hence the reason for a joint all out city patrol.

"So My Lady, have you _spotted_ our quarry yet?" Chat Noir asked. He landed on a roof top and paused for a second, resisting the urge to scratch his right shoulder, where his new patch with the letters UID stylized on it was sewn. Plagg and Tikki had somehow managed merge the patches with their Miraculous suits so now the government accepted them. It helped them out a few times, but the patch itself felt like an itch he couldn't reach.

"Nothing yet and what's with the ladybug jokes? Run out of cat puns?"

"I decided today is a red letter one. I got the envelope right here." Pulling out a red letter. Ladybug rolled her eyes and was about to retort when her eyes widened. She had seen something flying by the street lights. "Chat take a look over to the right! Is that an akuma?"

With his night vision he clearly saw an akuma heading for a building. A closer look showed it was a hospital and it was heading for an open window on the fourth floor. "It's an akuma alright and it's heading for the hospital, on the fourth floor!"

Ladybug started running double time. "Which side of the fourth floor did you see it heading for?" She demanded as she swung herself closer to the hospital. When he told her the right side she nearly missed her landing. "That's the Maternity Ward! We need to evacuate that area and now!"

Chat Noir was on it as he launched himself until he was at the front doors of the hospital and burst inside shocking everyone. A security guard made his way over to him wondering what this was all about. "Listen up, an akuma was spotted heading this way. We need to evacuate this hospital as safely and quickly as powerful, especially Maternity where we saw it slip inside!"

Suddenly, there was an explosion as the elevators crashed and fire burst down the stairs. Several lights burned out. Chat Noir ordered security to start securing the wings and protecting the patients. "All nurses and doctors, move in pairs to keep everyone safe. Turn off anything that could start a fire go!"

Chat Noir joined up with Ladybug, who had managed to get the Akuma, who resembled Itzpapalotil in her skeletal form, to the third floor need the administrations offices. "Miraculous! Must get Miraculous!" the women shouted as she flung another fireball, which Ladybug dodged by doing the splits. Using her magic yoyo she managed to grab one arm and pull it tightly causing the woman to trip.

The woman snarled, using her stone knife as a distraction causing the string to go slightly slack, she managed to get in the air, using her massive wings to blow Chat Noir back down the hall. He braced himself with his baton, extending both ways to keep him in place. "What's the problem? I know hospital food is horrendous, but don't you think flaming red heat will make it better?"

"Must get Miraculous, must get Miraculous!" The woman shrieked so loud, the glass shattered. "I take Miraculous and I go home to Tamoanchan!" She folded her wings around her and transformed into a beautiful obsidian colored sexy woman wrapped in a cloak. "Miraculous, home, home, baby,auuuuuuuuuughhhhhhh!" The women started to scream again.

Chat Noir and Ladybug watched in disbelief, as the hospital bracelet Itzpapalotil was wearing, crumbled to bits. An Akuma emerged struggling to fly away before it fell to the ground dead. The akumatized woman changed back to a lovely young woman, who fell to the ground asleep.

"What just happened here Chat?" Ladybug asked as the put the woman on a stretcher and carried her up the stairs to the Maternity Ward. With the crises over, the staff were assessing their patients and the damage. Once they entered the ward a female doctor rushed over to them.

"Thank goodness you found Mrs. Tate. I was worried when we couldn't find her during the evacuation." The doctor stated. "She had some hemorrhaging after delivery so I had to sedate her in order to fix it. Glad her stitches didn't tear. Thank you Ladybug. Thank you Chat Noir." They nodded their heads and then started to head out the

"If that lady was sedated, she couldn't have been conscious enough for Hawkmoth to target her, because she wasn't experiencing any emotions," Ladybug whispered as they headed for the exit.

"Right and she didn't have a personal vendetta, she just wanted the Miraculous. She was very confused about what was going on, it's as if the Aztec goddess form was forced on her." He pouted when Ladybug stared at him. "I'm a smart kitty, I can read."

"Of course you can, but I wasn't staring at you. Take a look at the akuma. It's different." Inside her yo yo, were the remains of the Akuma, slowly changing back to normal. The butterfly clearly wasn't one they usually fought. Something was up with Hawkmoth and they didn't like it.


	2. Life of a Civilian

**This chapter is dedicated to all the people who lost their lives or injured during the Bastille Celebration in Nice. I hope and pray that this violence stops soon. Also, take a look at the Ladybug wikia. The creator released the whole class's last names.  
**

* * *

Marinette arrived early to school for a class rep meeting. Ever since Peace Keeper had given her the special agenda/watch, Marinette hadn't been late once. She was now organized and was even able to make up the time when it came to her Ladybug activities. It was nice not to get yelled at for being late. Running up the stairs she nearly tripped and fell to the ground.

"Whoa girl, you need to watch where you're walking. Don't want to end up with a flat face do you?" Alya stated as she caught the back of Marinette's jacket and helped her upright. "What's the hurry anyways? Ever since you won that non-conventional contest and got your cool agenda, you act as if proving you can arrive on time means your something special."

Alya watched her friend smile and laugh before making a face. Yes, proving she could be on time, proved that she was changing into a responsible trustworthy person. "I give, when you're right, your right. Still, I don't think it's the meeting today that's got you so jittery is it? They can't start the meeting without us."

"I know, but I found something interesting in my plants this morning and I was hoping Ms. Mendeleiev could take a look at it." Before Alya could ask further, Marinette asked her if there was anything new on the Ladyblog. She needed to know if that strange incident had made it out to the Internet.

Alya nodded with a glee as she started swiping her smartphone until she found what she was looking for. "Check this out, it's a bit grainy considering it was sent at such a low definition. I'm guessing someone couldn't resist sending it. Take a look."

It was an image from one of the security cameras in the hospital. It showed the Akuma going crazy as Ladybug and Chat Noir battled her. Marinette winced internally as she saw how close the stone knife came to slicing her arm off. A minute or two later, Itzpapalotil, changed back without any help. "Can you believe this? The Akuma changed back to normal without any intervention from Ladybug! How is that even possible? Did you see when the Akuma turned to normal? That woman must have recently given birth, so why would she be angry?"

Marinette grabbed the phone from her best friend ready to delete the video. With a stern look on her face, the teen heroine started her attempt to get Alya to not post the video. "Alya, you can't post this, it's from a hospital security camera! It's illegal to post or send images like this over the Internet. Do you have any idea how much trouble you could be in for just receiving it?"

Alya tried to grab the phone back saying it was the first new information in weeks about the heroes of Paris. Marinette stood firm threatening to smash her friend's phone. "Alya, I'm trying to be a good friend here. It's not just the legal issues, its invasion of patient privacy. What are you going to do? Go the hospital and demand to speak to a woman, who must be in distress after giving birth and being Akumasized, in such a short time?"

Relenting, Alya promised not to put up the video and find another source to get her information from. Satisfied, the bluenettte gave her friend back the smartphone. They both headed inside the school and headed to the library where the meeting was taking place. Today, the class reps were deciding things for the school's community fair. The school community fair was a very big deal. It was the students' way of thanking the community around them for helping them with school related matters and to help incoming students get use to attending college next year. The class reps were in charge of making sure everything was planned, paid for, and ready for the event.

"Alright, how are we doing with the budget? We haven't overspent anything have we?" One of the class reps from the grade below asked. His deputy responded promptly replied that they still had enough in the budget to replace any damaged items and pay the shop owners for their time and effort.

"Each class is creating a unique booth for the event. I have the lists of what each class is doing as well as the layout of where everything goes in the courtyard."

"The art club agreed to make the decorations, as long as we cover the cost, of the art supplies. How are we doing for food?"

That was Marinette and Alya's job. "My parents have generously agreed to bake the treats for the event and Alya's mom agreed to help prepare some tasty and healthy lunch food."

"I also found us a vendor who agreed to donate drinks ranging from ice water to a limit amount of wine. All that needs to be done is to pick up the order and advertisements from him and we'll be golden," Alya added in a perky voice.

"That's good, without the donation I didn't know how we were going to cover the cost for amount of drinks we'll need. After all, the money we raise will go into improving the school over the summer break. Everyone was hoping to raise enough money to purchase specialized glass and windows to replace them. This glass would maximize sunlight, but keep the heat down thus reducing the cost of electricity and become a greener school.

"Alya and I also came up with ideas of how to recycle the items left after the fair. The booths can be given to outdoor vendors to help expand their business, the toys could be given to the hospital and the food distributed to families in need."

The other class reps nodded and told her to keep thinking of ways to reuse what they made. They wanted to make this a green fair and ensure that they're money spent would continue to help the community. A short time later the meeting was over and everyone hurried to get to their homerooms. There was no time to go see Ms. Mendeleev before class so it would have to wait.

During her first two periods it took everything in her to keep still and pay attention. Her usual cause for daydreaming, Adrien, was sitting in front of her whispering to Nino about something. Today, her mind was on the strange butterfly that had been used as an akuma. She really needed to identify the species.

Finally it was time for science class. Marinette rushed to the lab arriving first. "Ms. Dupain-Cheng, you know the rules. No running in the halls or in the classroom. I don't need you tripping over something and burning up my classroom."

The teen's cheeks turned red and she was going to go take her seat. She even took a step towards her seat, stopped, pivoted on her foot and marched over to her teacher looking her straight in the eye. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a small container with the remains of the butterfly in it.

"I found this butterfly this morning when I was watering my plants. I've never seen anything like this near my plants before or in Paris to my recollection. I was um hoping, um you could…"

"You want to know if I can identify it and why it died in your plants?" she looked at the classroom filling up. Most of the students already appeared like they wanted to be anywhere, but here. It was nice for a change for someone to be interested in science and coincidentally it would tie into the upcoming science unit.

"I'll take it home and see what I can learn. You can have it back next science period. Now sit down Ms. Dupain-Cheng. I have a class to conduct." Marinette nodded and hoped that the butterfly remains wouldn't hurt her teacher.

* * *

It was a rare day for Adrien. He didn't have anything scheduled for after school. He was planning on hanging out with Nino or going back to the hospital to see how the victim's recovery was going. Waiting at the base of the stairs; he saw Nino come out along with Alya and Marinette. He waved to them and they waved back, well except for Marinette who froze and did a weak wave. She had a weird look on her face.

"Yo Adrien what's up man? I thought you had something to do after school today as usual," Nino said high fiving his friend. The DJ expression brightened as a thought came to him. "No way man. You have a free day?"

Adrien rubbed the back of his head. "Well just until seven. My dad wants to talk to me tonight about an upcoming event I'm going to be modeling in. Nathalie usually tells me what the event is, but for some reason my dad wants to tell me."

"Isn't that a good thing? You're always saying you wish he would spend a bit more time with you. Relax, I'm pretty sure, your dad wouldn't let you model something he didn't want you too," Nino assured his friend. Adrien visibly relaxed upon hearing that. "So you want to come over and play some games. I just got a new one, Survival of the Fiercest. It's got great graphics and game play is amazing."

Adrien nodded and turned to ask if the girls wanted to join them, but Alya interrupted him. "Marinette and I, have to do some class rep stuff, then we're going to the hospital. I need to get some legit information to confirm an Akuma attack there last night. Coming Marinette?"

Marinette tried to tell Alya that was a bad idea, only for the young blogger reporter to grab her best friend's arm and started dragging her down the street as Marinette continuously protested about going to the hospital.

"Oh boy, I love my girl Alya, but one day she's going to get herself in big trouble in her pursuit of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Come on let's go." Adrien followed his best friend hoping that if Alya did get anything, it would be useful to him and Ladybug.

Hanging out with Nino was the highlight of the day. Survival of the Fiercest, turned out to be a pretty amazing game. After taking a short quiz, he go to design his own avatar to go with the spirit animal he tested for. Of course, his spirit animal was a black panther. Nino ended up with a monkey. In each level the two players were pushed to the limits to survive in harsh environments as they fought one another to come out on top.

The due had reached the final level, a burning jungle. The two Avatars and their spirit animals had popped into existence in a ring of fire. "You are going down Adrien. My strength is unmatched and my monkey is going to make a fool of your big cat."

"Hah, my panther is going to chew your animal out once it runs out of energy! Take that!" On screen, his avatar swung his staff catching Nino's off guard. Nino's avatar got back up and ducked under Adrien's staff slashing with his knife. He got to close and the panther took a swipe at him. His heroic monkey pal jumped on the panther tugging its ears.

Just then they heard Adrien's phone ringing. Pausing the game Adrien grabbed his phone and was shocked. He had twenty minutes to get home and be presentable for his father. "I've got to get home now! I don't want to think about what my dad's reaction will be if I'm late."

"My mom could give you a ride. Want me to get her? " Adrien didn't hear Nino's question as he rushed out the door slamming it shut behind. "Hope he can get home in time."

* * *

In a nearby alley, Adrien was begging for Plagg's help. "Come on, I need to get home fast. I can be there in less than ten minutes as Chat Noir. I can't be late!"

"You should have fed me more than! I only had three wedges of Camembert at breakfast! Nothing for lunch or even a snack! I'm getting a bit annoyed with all these personal requests," the cat Kwamii growled. Sure he gave all his "kittens" a hard time, but he wanted his cheese!

"If you get me home in time, I'll buy you three, no, four cheese breads from Marinette's family bakery." The cat Kwamii's eyes widen in delight as he rubbed his belly, almost tasting that cheese bread now. "Good Plagg. Claws Out!"

Seconds later Chat Noir was running as fast as he could across the rooftops. Using his staff he flung himself through the air landing on whole six blocks later. A few more pole vaults and he landed next to his mansion and detransformed out of sight. Hiding Plagg, he made sure the security camera at the gate recorded him coming home, before slipping inside.

Nathalie wasn't waiting for him at the door, which was a surprise. He quickly went to his room and quickly freshened up and found some clean clothes. "You stay here Plagg, I don't want you bothering me when I talk to Nathalie and Father." Without looking behind him, Adrien went to his father's office and knocked on the door waiting to be let in.

"Come in." Gabriel Agreste was seated at his desk looking over some paperwork. Nathalie stood next to him taking down notes. Adrien sat down in a chair, making sure to maintain his perfect posture. "You wanted to see me Father?"

Gabriel looked up from his paperwork and adjusted his glasses before speaking. "Yes. As you our exclusive mid-season line runway show is coming up soon. Since this year we'll be partnering with another fashion company, the Agreste Line needs to stand out more. This mid-season designs are based on the concept of animal symbolism, which I'm told is growing trend. Our line will have an exclusive accessory set to go with each outfit to increase our sales."

"You wish for me to model one of the outfit and the accessories? I can do that Father."

Gabriel nodded, folding his hands together. "Yes, which leads me to the reason for this meeting. The animal symbolism theme must look as natural as possible. Each model has to connect to the outfit." He slid a piece of paper over to his son.

It was a list of fourteen animals divided into two columns, one for girls and one for boys. The girl list was: ladybug, butterfly, honeybee, horse, swan, whale, and lastly frog. The boy list was: cat, fox, turtle, peacock, praying mantis, salmon, and badger. The rest of the paper had a spiritual animal quiz.

"The quiz is used to identify which animal you're most connect with. All the male options are open except for the cat. That one was already chosen. Please take this seriously. We need to do alterations starting two days from now."

Adrien hid his disappointment about the cat thing from his father. In the long run it might be a good idea not to be connect with the cat if he wanted to protect his identity. Let's hope I identify with something cool. He quickly finished the quiz and handed it back.

Gabriel looked over the results with the tiniest bit of a smile. "Nathalie please inform the alterations team to size the cloths and accessories for the badger outfit." The woman nodded as she hurried off to make the call. After telling Adrien he expected him to be in top performance he dismissed him. The boy left wondering how badly Plagg would tease him about being connected with a badger.

* * *

Nino knew something was up with his best friend when Adrien came into the classroom his cheeks flushed. He was muttering something under breath angrily. He took his seat and moaned.

"Hey what's up Adrien? Did you get in trouble for being late?"

"No, I got home in time. My dad has a new job and well, I'll tell you more at lunch okay," the blond told him. "That is if you and Alya don't have a lunch date."

"It's cool, I'm sure Alya and Marinette wouldn't mind joining us. Alya is literally ready to burst with new information for her blog," he said smiling amusingly. He knew the girls certainly wouldn't mind having lunch with them, especially Marinette.

Behind them, Alya kept whispering to Marinette. "Can you believe how lucky we got? I can't wait to post this video to the blog and that interview we got. I'm going to get so many new hits!" She was staring at her phone wanting to play the video again.

"Alya, not now please. I can't get another detention right now! Do I have to remind you of our obligation to the school council?" Marinette hissed. Ms. Bustier came in the room to begin class. The teen quickly sat up straight taking out her homework. In doing so; she felt a tiny twinge of pain in her right ear. Shaking her head, she stared at the teacher.

By the time lunch came around Marinette had a few more twinges in her right ear, but thought nothing of it. It was probably nothing to worry about, besides, she was having lunch with Adrien! "I can't believe I'm about to have lunch with Adrien!"

"Hey don't get ahead of yourself girl. Nino and I are going to be there too and I apparently Adrien has something he wants to tell us. Come on, we're supposed to meet them at that new café two blocks from here. I'll race you." Alya took off running with Marinette right behind her praying that her ladybug luck would keep her from tripping.

Alya slowed down and tripped Marinette on purpose, watching as her best friend landed in Adrien's arms. She smirked as Marinette stuttered an apology before asking if Adrien was okay. He was, and like a true gentlemen, he held out the seat for her. "I knew that would work," she whispered to herself.

"So Alya, what's with the running? I thought you had a scoop to share with us, not going out to get one." Nino wrapped his arm around his girlfriend. She pushed him aside and took her seat. "Okay, I get it, let's get something to eat. I'm starving. Then maybe my main man here can tell us why he's so moody today."

Adrien shot Nino a dark look, but said nothing. The DJ just gave him a grin. It was fun messing around with Adrien's mind. After they got their sandwiches and drinks Nino pushed Adrien's buttons again. "So, what's got you so moody? If I didn't know better, I think you're embarrassed about something."

"I AM NOT!" The blond moaned as he held his face in his hands as the others giggled and laughed at him. They had never seen him embarrassed before so it was quite the treat. "Okay, maybe a little embarrassed. My dad's exclusive mid-season fashion and accessory line fashion show is coming up."

"I heard about that! A mid-season line is a make or break moment in the fashion world. You have to account for the current season as well as make it functional and comfortable for the season to come," Marinette squealed in delight. Her eyes sparkled as she dreamed about what kind of outfit she would make if she was designing that kind of line.

Adrien laughed a little. Marinette's enthusiasm about fashion was one of the things he liked about her. "Well modeling this line is a bit different. The theme is Animal Symbolism. The reason I had to get home is my dad wanted me to take a quiz to figure out what outfit I should be modeling." He looked a bit downcast and the others had a feeling he didn't get the animal he wanted. Adrien went on to explain that the animal he wanted and tested for, the cat, was already assigned to someone else. "I think my Dad didn't want me to be connected with Chat Noir. He's mixed on his feeling about him and Ladybug. Sometimes he likes them other days he doesn't."

"How can he not like Lady ummm ummm?" Marinette covered her friend's mouth before she could go into one of her long winded speeches about how great the superheroes were. "So if you're not a cat then what are you going to be?"

"Badger, I'm stuck with being a badger, ugh!" Adrien complained. He could tell they were surprised by how he was acting. He always came off as a perfect gentleman. To say they were shocked, to see him acting like a normal teen, was different.

"So what if you're a badger? I admit they're not my favorite animal. I can't imagine digging in the dirt all the time looking for worms, but hey you'll rock it man. If you can score us some tickets, we'll be there for emotional support. How does that sound?" The blond looked at his best friend and the girls. Knowing they were eager to help him, he promised to get them some tickets no matter what.

Since they were done talking fashion Alya shoved their food off to the side and laid her phone down. "Okay, two nights ago there was a disturbance at a hospital and rumor had it that it was an Akuma! I couldn't believe it after so long another one showed up!"

Nino rolled his eyes. "Why is that a reason to celebrate? That dude Hawkmoth is back, I was hoping Ladybug and Chat Noir had stopped him for good."

Poking her boyfriend in the forehead Alya exclaimed, "This Akuma attack was different. I interviewed a visitor who was there that night and caught the attack on their cell phone. You wouldn't believe what it showed." Pushing play on her smartphone they all watched the fight. Neither Adrien nor Marinette noticed the other wincing at the fight, remembering how much it hurt.

When the video finished, Alya read them the interview she gotten. "Okay so, according to the witness Ladybug didn't have to do anything, the akuma came out on its own and the woman just reverted to normal. That's not normal."

Nino had to agree wondering what had happened. "Dude that was unreal. Maybe Hawkmoth made a mistake or something. Do you think that's why Ladybug picked up the remains?" His fist was supporting his head shuddering to think what that villain was up to. "No matter what's happening, I'm sure that Ladybug and Chat Noir on it. All we can do is be cautious." Silently both heroes agreed with him.

* * *

That night Marinette was having a difficult time doing her homework as she kept turning her head towards the returned remains of the butterfly. According to Ms. Mendeleev, the remains belonged to a species that lived in the south parts of France and at mountain altitudes. Also it was too soon to be seeing adults. The teacher had been greatly puzzled and asked Marinette to keep a lookout for more.

Tikki flew up to Marinette to give her a stern lecture. "You need to focus Marinette. If you want to keep your grades up you need to finish your homework, even if its physics."

Putting down her tablet Marinette sighed. "I can barely concentrate on physics in the first place. Now it's impossible with the Akuma remains sitting there. You heard what my teacher said, that butterfly shouldn't be here."

Tikki knew that and she was worried about Nooroo. She knew that if Hawkmoth was experimenting to increase his power, then the little Kwamii must be in serious trouble. "I know it's hard to concentrate, especially with Hawkmoth's latest akuma. Still, you need to finish this homework." She floated over and landed next to the remains. "Let me worry about this for now."

Marinette bit her lip. "Are you sure? I could really use a break." She winced and her hand went up to her right ear again. This time, she felt a slight throbbing. Ignoring the pain, she returned the attention to Tikki. "It's my duty as Ladybug to figure out what the bad guy is up to."

The Kwamii opened her mouth to protest when she started blinking red. Picking up a pencil, she started to write furiously on a clean page of Marinette's sketch pad. When she finished, she ripped the paper out and handed to her chosen. "A message from Peace Keeper. She's just checking in."

Peace Keeper had kept her promise to check in on the heroes. Using Tikki and Plagg's Kwamii Charms, she was able to connect to them and send messages through the link to them and turn the Kwamiis would relate them to their chosen. It was the safest way to communicate without leaving a trail or accidentally exposing Ladybug and Chat Noir's identities.

 _Dear Marinette, I thought I check in with you seeing as how I am in Europe again. Right now, I'm busy assisting with an ongoing peace mission. I'm hoping to complete my mission soon and visit Paris again. I haven't been able to see any news footage or get on the Ladyblog because our systems are down where I am. As soon as they're fixed, I'll catch up. You and Chat Noir take care. Sincerely, Peace Keeper._

Tucking the note into her special box, the teen wondered where Peace Keeper was exactly in Europe. Each time she got one, she forgave the women a little more. There were some trust issues to work on, namely Peace Keeper being vague about where she was and what she was doing. It made the designer wondered if Peace Keeper was trying to keep her safe or if she had an alternative motive.

Looking at the clock on her computer, she knew if she didn't start cracking down on homework, she'd never finish it in time to get some actual sleep. Tikki was right. She needed to focus on her homework. She had to trust that her Kwamii would figure things out.

* * *

With Plagg and Adrien, the cat Kwamii was annoyed. "You can't keep me from my beloved cheese! I need my precious food to keep up my good looks!"

"What good looks? Come on Plagg, you need to be serious here. I know you hiding something. What do you know about that strange akuma?" the model demanded as he held the cheese high up.

Frustrated, Plagg gave him a grumpy look. "If I tell you my suspicions, will you give me my precious cheese?" Adrien nodded as he sat down on the bed waiting for an answer. "Remember how our bond grew strong enough that you could finally hear me even when I'm stuck in the ring?"

After receiving a nod Plagg continued. "Using an analogy, just like it takes time to mature and create the perfect smelly cheese, your powers increase slowly over time. Imagine you're a wheel of Camembert. To become a wheel it took the proper ingredients from the type of milk used, to added ingredients and ripening to become whole."

Adrien rolled his eyes. Only Plagg would think of using cheese to explain that over time a Miraculous users powers grew. Still it made sense in a weird way. "So Hawkmoth powers have increased so he can create Akumas out of anyone correct?"

Plagg shook his head. "Not quite, the Butterfly Miraculous is one of the trickier ones to increase powers because it takes a lot out the user when used correctly. With Hawkmoth using it for evil, his powers should have been stunted. I think he's experimenting and forcing his Kwamii to reveal information ahead of time." Thinking about Nooroo the cat shuddered at the thought at being at the hands of a chosen who controlled him without mercy.

Adrien absorbed this and wondered what information Plagg was keeping from him. He asked the Kwamii once if he could sense other Kwamiis. The cat creature had admitted he could, but he was bound by his Miraculous not to reveal where they were or who their chosen was. "If Hawkmoth's forcing his Kwamii to take a shortcut, what does that mean for Ladybug and me?"

"One word. Trouble."

* * *

The sun had just started to rise as its hues of many colors sparkled against the glass of the healing center. In the healer's work space Master Fu and Wayzz were meditating to increase their strength. Just because the Great Guardian was a hundred and eighty six years old, didn't mean he couldn't use a computer. Indeed, he kept up with the Ladyblog to keep an eye on the young champions he'd chosen to wield the Miraculouses. After the latest video was uploaded, he knew that he might have to step in sooner than he thought. He also had concern for his beloved apprentice, Peace Keeper, (who he would always fondly think about as Ning), who had only just begun her apprenticeship.

Opening his eyes, Master Fu moved over to his counter and started drinking a special fruit and veggie power drink. Wayzz levitated over and took a small sip before eating his breakfast of baby carrots. Neither one spoke despite the thoughts in their minds. Finally, they set down the remains of their breakfasts to have another traditional dispute before opening the clinic.

Wayzz sat down on the edge of the table, kicking his little legs and he looked up at his friend and chosen. "Nooroo's master is experimenting with his power. Even under the best circumstances, the Butterfly Miraculous chosen shouldn't attempt this, until they've had their powers for at least three years." The little turtle antenna flopped down in sadness.

His "brother" Nooroo was not a weak Kwamii or overly emotional like the Peacock Kwamii. Plagg had a tendency to be lazy and indifferent, but he loved Tikki. She tended to be an eternal optimist and sweetheart that helped balance out his own seriousness, especially when the Fox Kwamii humor got out of control. That's when the Bee would step in and force them to all do some hard work. Nooroo personality tended to lean to being happy and helpful. He must feel so guilty about what he was doing.

The little turtle blinked his eyes before speaking again. "I feel Nooroo weaken a little more each day. I don't know how much longer he can hold out. He must be freed and soon!"

"Old friend, you're right, but do you truly believe that Ladybug or Chat Noir have the maturity and wisdom, to take on Hawkmoth face to face? Despite having some of their innocence stolen, they are still not strong enough to handle the worst case scenario."

In Fu's long life he had seen both the good and evil humans were capable of. He had fought monsters and nearly lost his life a hundred times. As the Great Guardian he had done things he wasn't proud of to protect the Miraculous Box and its contents. When he imagined the young teens having to make their hard choices, he shuddered fiercely. "No, they are not ready."

"What about distributing the other Miraculous? With the extra help I'm sure they could find Hawkmoth faster." As soon as he finished saying that he felt the still dormant Kwamiis use their Charms to connect with him. It was too soon and there wasn't a person who matched them and was strong enough to handle their responsibilities yet. Not to mention they still had to find and retrieve the Peacock Miraculous whereever it was.

The two partners also knew that they had to save their strength for the right moment. Sea Green Turtle had not made an appearance in twenty three years. That's why Ladybug and Chat Noir had been picked, because they were young and didn't have a back problem. With the rising trouble, the partners knew they might have to step in physically, which explained why Master Fu had started this new health regiment.

"The only way to swing the pendulum back towards good is to hope your apprentice is ready for the next level of training." Despite the years apart and only starting her official apprenticeship a few weeks ago, the young woman had shown the makings of a prodigy.

Her perfect memory allowed her to read and remember the history of the Miraculous with ease. She had gained the trust of the Kwamiis she encountered so far and had mastered his Kwamii Charm, and was nearly there with Plagg's and Tikki's. Her belief in magic was strong and she was a natural protector who loved the world with all her heart.

Even though she was a prodigy, she still had a lot to learn before she took her place as the Great Guardian. "Agreed. A great darkness is coming, one I fear threatens our young heroes. My apprentice might be the only one who can help the duo. It will take great courage and trust if the darkness grows stronger. We shall contact her after we are done with today's sessions." Wayzz nodded his little head as he helped his friend set up for appointments today before hiding in his little bed.

* * *

On the island of Cyprus, a UN Peace mission continued at its normal pace. The UNFICYP had been established in 1964 to prevent fighting between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. After the coup d'état and invasions in 1974, along with the illegal claim that the north part of the island belonged to the country of Turkey, the UN mission continued with new orders.

With the political situation unstable and travel between the two sides of the island shut down, the UNFICYP had built a buffer zone that had been taking down a few years ago. Now they concentrated on ensuring cease fires, humanitarian aid, and support missions of good office issued by the Secretary-General. When the reunification talks resumed in May 2015, the members of the team were assigned to offer assistance to the diplomats, in order to reach that goal.

In the UN headquarters in Nicosia, there were several techs working on getting the computer system back up and running. It was important to stay on top of world events especially what was going on in Turkey itself, with the illegal invasion and continuous displacement of the Turkish Cypriots.

"How much longer until the system is restored," the Head of the Tech Department asked.

"Almost there, we just need to replace a few more pieces of hardware. Irene, can you pass me the new RAM?" a techie asked.

 _"Si._ Here's the new RAM. I have an extra processor if you need one," a beautiful woman from Spain replied. She was medium height with long curvy legs and flawless skin. Her long brunette hair was up in a high ponytail. Her hazel eyes sparkled in delight, despite the small scar under her left eye. "Is it fixed?"

"Yes, thank you for your help Irene."

" _De nada_ , it's why I'm here remember?"

A messenger entered the room whispering something to the Head of the department. He frowned as he yelled, "Ms. Tapia, you have another long distance call. Did I not tell you twice now that our private lines are not meant for family calls?"

Irene, nodded and apologized. She promised to tell the party that. "I'll have it transferred to my phone. It won't happen again." The young woman hurried to her room and as soon as the call transferred, she started to speak. "Hello, Irene Tapia speaking."

"Is that what you're calling yourself today Ning?" Irene, (who was really Peace Keeper using another alias), raised her eyebrows. Locking the door to her room and after a quick sweep for any type of listening/recording device, she started speaking Chinese into the phone.

"Master, I wasn't expecting to hear from you on the phone. Why not use our traditional method?" When he replied what he had tell her was too important and very detailed, she knew trouble was rising. "What's going on with Paris?"

"Hawkmoth has begun experimenting to increase his powers. He unleashed a new type of Akuma that took over a sleeping woman in the maternity ward and forced a persona on her." He let his words hang for a few minutes, giving his apprentice a chance to absorb the information. "There's more. The akuma released its control as it went through its death throws. I can tell you it wasn't the normal species used and it should be around in Paris or now."

Peace Keeper's concern was growing. Fingering the glamoured Kwamii Charm necklace around her throat, she could sense the general worry from the Kwamiis. "Poor Nooroo, Hawkmoth will destroy him at this rate. What can I do to help? I can't leave Cyprus for another few weeks!"

"Then you must figure out a way because we need you here. There are things that I must teach you in order to help Ladybug and Chat Noir. Hawkmoth isn't going to stop until he's captured."

Sensing how tired and worried her master was, she told him not to worry. While it would take time to arrange for an early departure and permission to go to Paris, there was still something she could do here to help the heroes. She had an idea how to narrow down the identity of Hawkmoth. Promising to call him back Peace Keeper hung up. It was time to get to work.


	3. Favors

Peace Keeper paced back and forth in her room. How was she going to get off Cyprus and to Paris quickly? Ever since she got her permission to start forming her own team, her superiors had been keeping her too busy to even start her search for other members to her peacekeeping force. That was another reason she wanted to get back to Paris and check on her current teammates, at the very least she wanted to know if she had earned some of their trust back.

Once again she sent out an emergency call to the UN hoping she get a return call soon. Fingering her charm necklace, Peace Keeper sat down on her bed, prepared to mediate to increase her power to use the Kwamii Charms, when someone knocked on her door.

"Irene, are you done with your call yet? We need to head out. They need us at the reunification talks to assist with repairing the computers and other technology that has broken down."

"Coming Melissa, just give me a second." Making sure her special laptop would alert her if she got a response, she adjusted her blue beret to make sure it was on right, she left her room and was joined by Melissa, a Greek Cypriot, who had joined the Peacekeeper Force to help bring peace to her country. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I had a lot on my mind."

Melissa nodded guessing it had to do with that family call. She understood all too well what it was like to want to help your family, but feeling helpless to do so. "Do you want to talk about your call? It has you pretty rattled."

Irene paused considering what to tell her. She had to stick to her alias profile which stated "Irene's" grandparents were dead. "An old mentor of mine, who I consider to be like a grandfather to me, is having some difficulties in Paris. He wants me to come and help him out, but you know how hard it is getting permission to take time off from our duties."

Melissa nodded and placed a comforting hand on her fellow techies shoulder assuring her it would be alright. That whatever was going on she was sure that her mentor could handle it. If she really did need to go no one would stop her. The Spanish beauty nodded as they boarded the jeep that was talking them to reunification talks. When they reached the Embassy, the team was ushered into a side room adjoining the talks. The broken equipment had been set up there for them to fix without disrupting the talks. Promising to be as quiet as possible; the team went to work.

Melissa went to work fixing translator device, a pocket talker. The device helped amplify speech so it was easier to quickly translate for someone in real time. Irene had been assigned to help her. "It's amazing how such a tiny device could be broken by accidentally brushing against someone."

"I know, that's why we should reinforce the casing. I'll fix the headphones so that the speech isn't so garbled." Irene went to work adjusting the headphones so they would be more comfortable on a person's head. The plastic coating, needed to be stripped off and replaced. She tested them to make sure that they worked.

"Just one more tweak and done! Well that's one pocket talker fixed. Only about twenty more to go," Melissa stated with glee. Once they finished with the pocket talkers, they needed to fix the conference microphones and end with fixing the IR receivers. It would be a long day for both of them.

* * *

"Irene" went to work on a receiver by herself. Carefully, she adjusted its range and volume so she could listen through the wall to the reunification talks. Her reason for being here wasn't confined to her usual peacekeeping duties. Many people and most of the nation believed that these talks were the last hope the country had to become one nation again. Both leaders from the two different Cypriots groups, Presidents Nicos Anastasiades and Mustafa Akinci, Greek and Turkish respectively, wanted to finish this business by the end of the year.

The UN was also hoping to reach that goal to not only to bring peace to the island, but restore human rights to many of citizens, who had lost them due to the Turkish occupation. Most importantly, as a united country with full human rights, the EU would be more accepting of the country and improve relationships with the UN for future business.

With increasing trouble from Turkey and rumors of unrest, the UN Security Council had thought it best that Peace Keeper used her unique skill set to ensure continuous talks and that the events happening in Turkey didn't impact what was going on here. That's why she had been assigned to the tech team. It gave her an advantage to check for spy devices and check to see if anyone had a hidden agenda.

So far, she hadn't uncovered any spy devices and no one seemed to have a secret agenda. Turning to Melissa, Irene casually asked a question. "If the reunification talks end well, do you think the entire country will see itself a united force or still be divided by ethnicity?"

Melissa played with her hair for a few minutes. She gazed at the ceiling before finally speaking on the matter. "In many ways, this country is truly divided into two. Our religions, food, cultural architecture. Even if we're able to unify there will always be tension. Hopefully the next generation can build a better society."

It was a good answer and gave Peace Keeper a reason to believe that the future would be better.

When she got back to the safety of the Green Zone, she hurried to her room and opened her special computer seeing the alert button was on. Tapping the right keys she there was a video response waiting for her. Surprised that there wasn't a person to respond to her, she played the video.

It showed the office of the UN Security President only it wasn't the current leader sitting in the seat of power. The five core members of the Security Council sat in a semi-circle around the computer. Each had a serious look on their face. One by one each person spoke.

 _China: "Peace Keeper, we received your request to be prematurely extracted from your current mission. This is unexpected behavior from you. The mission is still ongoing and your presences there helps the diplomats assisting in these talks. Without your knowledge, they wouldn't be able to proceed with confidence and assurance they are being heard. These reunification talks may be Cyprus last hope. You are more useful there then returning to France. I voted not to let you leave prematurely."_

 _France: While we acknowledge that you have started your own peace keeping team, we're still skeptical about who you chose to join you. While they may be heroes, they're still teenagers. Accepting them means ignoring our age limits for peace keepers. Yet, they are the only ones who could assist you. I voted to allow you to go back."_

 _Russia: "I continue to remain skeptical about your proposal and that we have kept you busy to make test how much dedication you will put into your new forces. From what I've seen it is difficult to judge how you plan to handle your responsibilities. Surely, you can complete your duties without having to cut your assignment short. I voted not to allow you to go."_

 _UK: "The world is always in trouble and some missions take priority over others. France should be able to handle its own problems, but as you stated in your report these are not ordinary circumstances. I believe that your unique skills would be better used in preventing a disaster, seeing as we have enough people assisting with the reunification talks. I voted to allow you to return to France."_

 _US. "With a tied vote, I offered a compromise. It will take at least a week and half to get you out of Cyprus with no one knowing your secret. You must continue your mission until such time. If you need any help in preparing for your return to France, please don't hesitate to ask. Security Council out."_

* * *

Hawkmoth was very eager to see if the rest of the experiments had prospered further since last night. Yesterday, Experiment Two caterpillars had finally changed into chrysalis. Experiment Three, the chrysalises has actually grown bigger, an unnatural act, promising a great big butterflies. Experiment Four, the caterpillars had started to undergo their final molt. This time he would be sure to be more careful about selecting his target and the amount of dark energy he used. Entering his lair, he was shocked and pleasantly surprised to see the mature adults waiting on the blackthorn. The sped up time inside the garden had matured them faster after their long time as hungry caterpillars. "Let me get a clear look at you my beauties. Yes amazing creatures indeed, but why are they like this?"

The two butterflies, one male and one female, had been split down the middle. The male left side was normal, a dark brown, with a small patch of light orange on the upper wing with a white trim. The underside was light orange with two streaks of white going from the upper to the lower wing. The right side was pure akuma.

With the female it was opposite. Her left side was akuma, but her right side showed the slight difference between the sexes of the species. Her patch was bright orange and spread fully across her upper wing. Her understand was a darker orange with white streaks.

With delicate care, Hawkmoth took both butterflies and held them in his hands. These results were different than before. "It would seem that in order to survive to adults, these specimens, must have used half the amount of dark energy they received to quicken their life cycle to stay alive. The result is a half born akuma. Time to see if they can handle a bit more."

Slowly he started to introduce more dark energy to fully transform. As he watched he noticed the butterflies were trembling. He stopped and placed the butterflies on the table. Grabbing a magnifying glass he took a closer look. It was tiny almost invisible, but there was a tiny break in the body. "They can't handle anymore dark energy. What to do? I need a complete akuma for my plan to succeed! Nooroo options!"

" _Maybe you should try draining them of their dark energy and release them. It doesn't seem this species is a good choice for you."_

" _I hope that was a joke Nooroo, because if it wasn't, I will make you and your precious beauties get burned!"_

" _Apologies Master, it was only one option. I've never come across this situation before. If they were both the same sex, maybe you could merge them, but seeing as how they're not, I don't believe that's a viable option."_

" _Merge them, yes I can do that! This hermaphrodite will be my perfect creation!"_ Hawkmoth picked up his specimens again, gently cupping them in his closed hands. He concentrated and imagined the butterflies merging as one. As the Miraculous' power went to work he reached out with his telepathic abilities searching for a target. Finally, he found someone who would be perfect and would cause so much chaos that Ladybug and Chat Noir would be forced to give up their Miraculouses.

Opening his hands the two butterflies had fused into one. "Fly my precious butterfly. The time has come to evilize someone that people assume can't be corrupted." The akuma awkwardly took to the air nearly scraping itself against the tiny opening.

The akuma struggled as it tried to stay high in the air only to dip down in the sky at street level. Brown Hairstreaks preferred staying high in their "master trees" where they could get the most sunlight. Hawkmoth's instructions and the creatures' natural instincts continued to clash as the hermaphrodite continued searching for its target. Finally, the little insect reached its destination, Notre Dame, resting on top of a gargoyle. The high perch allowed it to warm up enough that it was able to go inside and find the target.

* * *

In the great, cathedral Father Francis was reading over his new sermon in his office. He thought it would was perfect as it talked about how faith is similar to the death and resurrection. Caught up in work he didn't notice when the akuma landed on his cross and forced itself inside.

The man clutched his side as a terrible pain filled his entire body. His mind felt as if it was trying to avoid splitting in half. "Help me! Someone help me! Save me God"

" _No one will help you, not even your precious God. I'm Hawkmoth and I hold all the power my dear Resurrection. You will do as I command."_

" _No, cast thy spirit ahhhhhhhh!" The priest was drowned out as his consciousness was buried deep inside as the akuma started to take over._

In a spiral pattern the darkness twisted about changing Father Francis. His black robes became purple with a blood red trim all over. A hood was pulled over his head with an image of a spirit and butterfly intertwined. Blood red eyes stared out from the hood. "I am the Resurrection! I will bring back to life all that is holy and ensure the transformation of the citizens into loyal followers of Hawkmoth!"

Exciting his office he stunned the other religious members looking at him in disbelief. A member of the clergy, Father Francis no less, had been turned into an evil Akuma! They obeyed their first instincts and ran for their lives. With a flick of the wrist, his trim came to life wrapping itself around the clergy, leaving them all bandaged up. "Soon, you will rise as powerful followers of the great Hawkmoth."

Resurrection glided past them as he headed up the stairs. There he could bring to live all the gargoyles he would need to fight Ladybug and Chat Noir. Soon they would be resting in eternal peace in Notre Dame's Crypt!

* * *

On the school rooftop, Ladybug and Chat Noir were meeting to share information. Gladly, it was the weekend so there were no civilians to worry about if an Akuma attacked. Ladybug showed her partner the specimen cup with the dried up remains of the strange akuma.

"I talked with my science teacher to find out if she could identify the species. It's called the Damon Blue and it lives in the south part of France. This adult shouldn't be possible because they don't emerge until later in the summer."

"Of course Hawkmoth would choose a _Demon_ Blue to use against us." Ladybug glared at him and hissed it was called a Damon, not Demon Blue. Chat Noir held up his hands. "I was just teasing you." Getting a stern look from his Lady, he promised to take this more seriously.

"Since the adult species hasn't yet emerged, how did Hawkmoth get a hold of one?"

"He could have ordered a butterfly garden. Certain companies sell different types of species to schools or as learning kits for kids. From what I heard there not that expensive. Although I'm not sure what species are sold around here," Chat Noir admitted, his tail and ears twitching.

Ladybug could see from his posture that he was holding back something. "Chat, do you know something else that could be helpful? This isn't the time to be withholding information."

"I know My Lady, my Kwamii told me something recently that has me worried and I don't want to put added pressure on you," he admitted staring at the roof tiles. "My Kwamii told me that our abilities are supposed to grow stronger over time, but Hawkmoth is forcing his Kwamii to help him take a short cut to gain more power, and that means trouble for us."

Ladybug could feel Tikki's pain learning that her friend could be dying at the hands of a madman. She silently promised she would do everything in her power to prevent that. Just then her yoyo and Chat's staff started beeping as alert caught their attention. Connecting with the Internet a live stream video from the Ladyblog showed an Akuma at Notre Dame causing trouble, as he transformed the gargoyles into living creatures.

With a nod, they both jumped off the roof and headed towards the famous cathedral. Both were wondering if this was another weird akuma attack. As they neared the building a flock of gargoyles attacked them. Ladybug was in mid swing when one gargoyle grabbed ahold of her yoyo string and started to fly away with her holding on for her life.

"Ahhhhhhhh, let go of my yoyo!" she screamed as the gargoyle flew higher and higher in the air. Once it had climbed several miles into the sky it started flying in circle faster and faster. Ladybug was getting dizzy. She tried to climb up the thin wire to get it out of the gargoyle's mouth when the creature released the yoyo, sending her across the sky and on a crash course to be impaled by Notre Dame Spire!

Chat Noir, had managed to plow through the gargoyles and now was fighting against remains of people who had been buried at the cathedral. "This is so wrong and disgusting," he said as spun around his staff breaking the bodies in half. One of the dead grabbed him from behind and he managed to flip him over his head and into the ground. Using his enhanced abilities he jumped over them and landed on the steps of the building. A blood red trim came at him that he deflected the attack. He started bouncing around, careful not to land on any bandaged up person awaiting "resurrection."

Resurrection glided down the steps, his robes flapping in an invisible wind. His blood red eyes bore into Chat Noir, who froze in place at the sight of them. "I would welcome you to our cathedral Chat Noir, if not for your attempt to stop the great Hawkmoth."

"I'm not the one desecrating a place of worship! The great Notre Dame, that inspires us and watches over the whole city, and you a clergy man are trying to destroy it? Not while I'm here."

Charging forward on all fours, the teen got ready to pounce only to be tackled to the ground by a dead person. They rolled around on the ground as Chat Noir tried to fling the dead off of him. His staff rolled away from him and was out of reach.

"Seize his Miraculous my brethren. The great Hawkmoth desires the ring!"

When the decayed hand tried to remove the ring, something new happened. Chat Noir didn't know how he did it, but his tail snaked out, grabbed his staff, and flung it perfectly so that the dead guy fell to pieces. As he scooted away, Plagg's voice echoed in his mind.

" _My kitten is a prodigy! You learned to take control of your fake tail and make it work like a real one. My other Chats took a year and half to learn that!"_

"No time for praise Plagg, we still have to find the possessed item." Whipping around he saw Resurrection gliding over, his trim snaking its way over towards him. Raising his hands he was about to direct the trim when Ladybug slid off the roof and landed on the man, her foot breaking half of the cross.

She had used all her luck to twist in midair, grab the spire, and managed to spin around it and then slide down the roof to attack the Akuma. Looking at the damage cross she waited for the akuma to fly out, instead the left side of the man changed back to normal.

"Please help me! You must ahhh," the normal side yelled before being interrupted by the akuma side. "Silence you weakling. I will secure the Miraculouses for Hawkmoth."

"Talk about a split personality. Ladybug, we need your charm now!" Nodding, Ladybug called out for her Lucky Charm and she was left with a plaster trowel. Her eyes darted around and within seconds she knew what to do.

"Chat Noir, get Resurrection as close as you can to the door, then wait for my signal." Tossing her retrieved yoyo, she pulled herself up to viewing deck. Below her she could hear Chat Noir annoying the half Akuma to no end. Dipping her trowel into a plaster tray, she jumped off the deck.

Chat Noir managed to get the man to the door. Hearing his Lady coming he jumped back a little as Ladybug landed and pushed off using her covered plaster trowel and covered the transformed arm in the adhesive and he was stuck to the door, but only for a few minutes. "Now Chat Noir!"

"Cataclysm!" The spell of destruction destroyed the rest of the cross. His partner captured the akuma and devilized it. Both heroes were surprised to see two butterflies emerge from the yoyo instead of one. Quickly, Chat took a picture of the two butterflies before they disintegrated in mid-air.

Ladybug used her Miraculous Ladybug Cleanse restoring everything to normal including reverting Father Francis to a whole human. "Thank you, both of you for helping me." The experience was the strongest challenge he faced as a servant of God.

"You're welcome Father. If it is not too much trouble, could you tell us how this happened to you?"

"Of course," Father Frances nodded. He told them about how he was writing his sermon, the topic and how he was possessed. He mentioned trying to cast out the Akuma, only for his consciousness to be squashed.

The partners looked at one another. It was another strange akuma attack and showed them that their enemy wasn't going to give up easily on gaining more power. With the transformations about to give out they silently agreed to call each other later. As they took off, Ladybug felt like the wind was whistling right against her ears making them hurt more.

* * *

Back on Cypress, Peace Keeper was chatting away with Melissa in the rec room at the base. It was a typical rec room, some ugly couches, a few tables to play board and card games, and a TV to watch movies. Since she couldn't leave right away, she decided to work on gaining an associate for this alias. "So, tell me more about this Limassol Carnival. I've heard about it, but never seen it."

"It's amazing, I'll tell you that!" Melissa entire face lit up in delight, as she remembered her last one. "My favorite part of the celebration is the Grand Carnival Parade. All the floats are beautifully decorated and everyone wears costumes to the event. The King or Queen of the Carnival always depict the theme of the event. That helps us plan our outfits to the masquerade balls."

Marinette would love to make a masquerade outfit and I'm sure Adrien would enjoy the festivities Peace Keeper thought. Learning there was an entire week dedicated to eating cheese, the young woman couldn't hold back a laugh as she touched Plagg's charm, thinking he would love that fact. "It sounds like a wonderful event. Perhaps someday the two of us can go together."

Before Melissa could respond, they heard a slight buzzing sound, coming from "Irene's" pocket. It was her phone and whoever was calling seemed to be important judging by the look on the Spanish beauty's face. "Is it news from your family?"

"Not exactly. It's been fun chatting Melissa, but I really need to go right now. You understand?" Melissa nodded urging her to go. Smiling "Irene" left the room hurrying down the corridors until she reached her room. Closing the door, she got her laptop and told the person on the other end of the phone to redial her Skype account.

* * *

Two minute later "Irene" was face to face with Candice Delong, a retired criminal profiler and a host of the show, "Deadly Women", on Investigation Discovery or ID. "Well, I have to say I wasn't expecting to get a call from you during my break. It's been a few years hasn't it?"

"Three to be exact Ms. Delong. I find I'm in need of your expertise," the disguised Peace Keeper informed her. The famous woman's eyebrows raised just a little in surprise. Honestly, it was a bit of a shock. Why did a member of the Peacekeeper Force need to learn profiling methods?

Three years ago, her superiors had retained Ms. Delong's service to teach Peace Keeper, who had used the Irene alias, how to profile people. It was highly unusual to ask for a retired agent to do that and not tell anyone. For three months she had taught the basics: Profiling input, decision process models, crime assessment, profiling, investigation, and apprehension. Peace Keeper had managed to grasp a few basic skills of this sometimes controversial technique, but had not mastered it.

Her lack of true socialization and concept of self, had caused some problems with applying the techniques. Which is why the UN's best kept secret had retained the contact information to talk with her former teacher. "I know this is an unusual request, but I'm not capable of the level needed to solve this problem."

"Which is what?" Delong asked, intrigued a bit by the call.

"Irene" explained the situation in Paris best she could without giving away anything about her friends. Luckily Candice had learned about the situation beforehand and was interested in figuring out how a mind of a real supervillain worked.

"I'm not sure if I have everything you need to create a profile. As I mentioned, some of my good friends need help to narrow down their search. They can't ask for this kind of help, for classified reasons. I promised I'd get them some." Leaning forward, the young woman tried to avoid biting her fingernails in worry.

Ms. Delong didn't speak for a few minutes. She hesitant and for good reason. A private citizen was asking her to profile a criminal, with evidence she had obtained from an unknown source. Her mind knew something was not right. Her three months teaching this woman had been proof enough. Still, it was a challenge like no other. "Alright, I'll help. Send me what you have and I'll try to make a workable profile."

"Thank you Ms. Delong, I knew you could help me. Can you email me the profile results when you're done? Thanks!" Signing off Irene leaned back against her chair and pumped her hand in victory. At last she was contributing something to the team.

* * *

A few days later it was Tuesday afternoon and it was the day of the Agreste Line-Couture Chic mid-season fashion show! Marinette was so excited as she showed her ticket to the ticket master. He nodded and told her to proceed to a waiting Nino and Alya. "I can't believe I'm here! It's a dream come true!"

"I'm more impressed my man Adrien managed to get us tickets. Knowing his dad, Adrien must have been super sneaky to get us tickets to this event. We're a bad influence remember?" Nino joked about. The girls rolled their eyes and started to drag the DJ to his seat in the second row around the runway. The teen had to admit this was exciting.

Alya checked her phone over, making sure everything was in working order. "I can't wait to start recording this. The whole class is sure to enjoy watching Adrien do his gig." She leaned a bit further in her seat eager to get the best recording ever.

Next to her, Marinette was rubbing her ears again, wondering why the felt so full and weird. The pain was getting harder to ignore each day. Tikki had encouraged her to tell her parents so she could see a doctor. Marinette wished she had taken her Kwamii's advice. She promised herself as soon as the show was over, she go home and arrange a doctor's visit.

Finally the show started as the heads of the fashion companies walked out on the stage. Mr. Agreste posture came off cold and harsh, while Blythe Mason, the owner of Couture Chic was busting with enthusiasm. "Greetings Paris, let me say first what an honor it is that you all came out to see the show. It means a great deal to me and my designers. Gabriel, I also thank you for allowing us to share the stage with you this year."

"It was the sensible thing to do Blythe. Hopefully this collaboration will continue in the future. For now, it's time to let the clothes do the talking with this year's mid-season theme: Animal Symbolism." Everyone cheered as the lights dimmed and the music started playing.

Out walked the first model in a form fitting strapless dress that had the colors of the French Angel Fish wrapping its way around the dress ending with expensive beading on the skirt to simulate scales. It was an amazing design.

Another model came out wearing an outfit inspired by jackals looking splendiferous in her jacket mid-length dress. The whole crowd was in awe as the Couture Chic outfits walked the runway with a dazzling pattern of animals ranging from pandas and hawks, to snakes and deer. Marinette was memorized by all the work that went into the gowns. She wondered if she could pull of a look like that when the music changed. It was time for the Agreste Line!

The first model down the runway sported the ladybug look. She wore black wedged shoes with little red charms, black jeggings with a spotted belt and a white sheer mesh and caplet, with a red undershirt. The model sported a charm bracelet, purse, and hair accessory all based on ladybugs tending aphids. It was a trendy look.

Next model was the cat one. The handsome model wore a tortoise pattern top and smoked color jeans with blueish-gray sneakers. The accessories were bicolor and included a watch, chain, and armband.

The next pair of models were the bee and the praying mantis. The female model's clothing had been designed to emphasize how the creature was a symbolism of hard work, communication, and dance as she flaunted her bracelet, necklace, and earrings. Her partner, the praying mantis, clothing showed off how this intelligent insect was a master hunter with great patience and focus. The accessories included a collar, sunglasses, and ring.

The next two that came out had faux fur of the animals they symbolized because the Adrien Line was animal friendly, and didn't take hair or fur off a dead animal s for fabric. The horse outfit embodied the element of freedom and confidence along with its ability to travel through tough terrain with a fashionable travel pack, anklet, and hat. The fox of course symbolized cleverness, mischief, and play. The accessories used here were a wallet, tie, and a pin.

In the audience Marinette stared in awe as the frog and turtle models came out. The frog inspired dress had a beautiful ombre effect as the colors changed and melted together showcasing a frog's transformation. The tights were made of a very breathable fabric that could handle both land and water, showing how the creature was a symbol of cleansing. She really liked the barrettes, clutch and scarf. In contrast the turtle based designed hit on the longevity, protection and wisdom. The print on print outfit stood out nicely as the armor like shell had been translated into the cuffs and socks.

Water creatures, the whale and salmon were next. These outfits drew special attention from Alya who tried to get the best angles to show of the flowing lines and scale effect from the two outfits. The whale model sang out loud for a few moments and twirled about to symbolize the joyous song and mystery of the depths. The accessories were a pair of earrings, a tiny flute on a chain, and bangles. The model wearing the salmon outfit showed why this fish was the sacred symbol of power, strength, and mysticism as the fish seemed to really swim through the outfit. Nothing messed with this outfit as its sparkly, yet tough jacket and shoes.

Birds were next as the beauty, elegance, and angelic like wings of the swan came out in a beautiful blouse and skirt. A decorative feather hairband blew in the breeze. The model popped open a fan showing the everlasting love between a pair of swans. A simple yet strong piece. The accompanying peacock was not afraid to strut and show off his designer outfit. Besides the dazzling feather motif, the outfit symbolized the boldness and dignity associate with the animal with a dignified watch, cuff links, and buttons.

The three classmates started clapping their hands as Adrien came out first, instead of the female model. Marinette melted into her seat as Alya zoomed in with her camera and Nino shouted support for his main man. Adrien paused for a second as he spared a quick glance at his friends. Seeing them there made him much happier.

Walking down the runway he displayed why the badger was a creature of toughness, determination, and fearlessness. His outfit included a vest with rough edges, an elbow length shirt that showed the looked like a badger with its claws out, and kaki pant the color of the earth where the creature lived. A hat, belt, and ring made him stand out as the star male model. Enjoying the praise he started to head back to the curtain as the model in the butterfly outfit came out.

By far this female was the prettiest model. A recent arrival from Tokyo, her exotic features matched the dress that looked like a hundred different butterflies had landed on her. Her sleeves appeared as mini wings. A small tiara like headband held her hair in place, along with a shield shape necklace with a crystal butterfly on it and dazzling set of earrings. The model was waving to the crowd happy to be the star of the show.

* * *

Just Adrien passed through the curtain, he heard the audience go awe. Peeking from behind the curtain, he saw seven butterflies flying near the stage. The audience thought this was part of the show, but Adrien knew it wasn't. The model screamed as she was dive bombed, by seven akumas, whose bluish-purple sheen could still be seen clearly. The akumas each took turns trying to get into an object on her, but for some reason six of them couldn't merge. Finally, the seventh merged with her headband transforming her into a geisha style akuma screaming something about vanity.

Marinette wasted no time running from her seat and finding a nearby janitor closet to change. As Tikki transformed her into Ladybug, her ears protested as a painful growing ache formed. Bursting out of the closet, she was pleased to see that Nino had successfully managed to extract Alya, so she didn't have to worry about her best friend. On stage, Chat Noir was already attacking the Akuma.

"Hey, I get wanting to be the star of the show, but don't you think it's time to head to the backstage _wings_?" He joked, as he swung his staff at the woman, who danced out of the way and shouted "Vanity is the impediment of evil!" Her voice was so loud it threw him off the stage.

Luckily he was caught in net made of her yo-yo string. "My Lady, I'm glad to see you. I knew models were vain, but this is a whole another level." Ladybug laughed at that one before retracting her line. "Why are those other akumas just floating near her? Shouldn't they have infected people by now?"

"I don't think they can. I was watching earlier, seven dive bombed her and failed to merge with an object."

The geisha leaped off the stage destroying the section of chairs she landed on. "Modeling is nothing but vanity. Destroy the auditorium my butterflies!" she commanded. Instantly the unusual akumas started flying in different directions. One landed on the runway, its proboscis extending as started to literally suck the runway of its "life" before it collapsed in "death."

The partners knew they couldn't let the rest of the auditorium be destroyed. "Go, devilize the akumas. I'll handle Vanity here, by the time you're finished, and I'll have that headband." Ladybug nodded already sprinting off and tossing her yo-yo in the air and swinging towards the akuma heading to its next target.

"Foolish! My vanity shall be your end!" Removing her obi, she snapped it and flung it. Chat dodged missing being buried in makeup. She repeated the motion this time nearly changing his hair style. Chat sprang up and pounced on her as they rolled around the floor breaking all the seats as they fought.

"Give me that ring you ugly cat! I need that ring to complete my look!"

"Sorry, but the only girl I plan on giving a ring to is My Lady!" Chat shouted as he pushed the Akuma off. She stumbled backwards her kimono caught on one of the seats. She struggled to tear herself free. Chat moved in to use his Cataclysm only top stop when he heard a wail of intense pain.

Turning around, he was stunned by the sight of Ladybug on the ground clutching her ears. Looking a bit closer, he was surprised to see a tiny trickle of blood. Surrounding her were the deevilized Purple Emperors. Rushing over he cradled his partner. "My Lady, what's wrong?"

"Ahh, stop talking, it hurts! Just use the Lucky Charm and Cataclysm and I'll get rid of her akuma." On the ground he saw a red and black spotted can of soda. After a moment of hesitation, he snatched the can shaking it as hard as he could before releasing the carbonated water right in the Akuma's face.

While she was screeching about how her perfect looks had been ruined, he snatched the headband off her head destroying it with his power. As the Akuma flew away he heard Ladybug catch and cleanse it. A second later her loveliness of ladybugs fixed everything. He turned to do a fist bump only to see Ladybug already gone. Hoping she would be okay, he left before his ring timed out.

* * *

On Cyprus Irene/Peace Keeper was waiting for Ms. Delong to return her profile today. Her orders for a transfer would be here in the next few days and she needed that information now. Finally her computer beeped alerting her of incoming call.

Accepting the call, she was surprised to notice how haggard her old teacher was. Ms. Delong's hair was frazzled and she had bags under eyes. Her clothes were a bit frumpy. "Ms. Delong, are you okay?"

The woman nodded assured her she was fine. "It was an interesting challenge and I couldn't put it down. Remember, this is just an investigating tool to help narrow down part of your friends' search." Tapping a few keys she started transmitting her profile.

Irene secured the file in her computer and open it. The basics were already there. A white male between the age of 35-50, controlling, manipulative and well cultured. Had a job that gave him plenty of free time, but also gave him a position of power and respected. There was mentioned that since he was linked somehow to fashion, he used that let out his creativity during his periods of non-activity.

The profile continued talking about his possible motivation, why he would use others to carry out his desires and stay hidden. The pattern and types of people he liked. There was something unusual though in the profile that Irene/Peace Keeper felt she needed to ask about. "Why do you think he's a single parent of a teenager?"

"He targets teenagers because of he understands there emotional issues, however with his controlling nature, his child would not understand or emulate normal teenage behavior, most likely do to home schooling until recently. His child would be a perfect way to learn about teenage problems on a personal level.

I also picked up on a few traits that indicate he's a parent. His obsession with the heroes, the way he's protective of his creatures. His way of pretending to care about his victims, it's somewhat fatherly. Yet, he doesn't seem to be balanced out and his motives speak of a personal loss. It's just a start."

Irene nodded and thanked her for the information. She would make use of the information. Hopefully Master Fu, could compare this past known users and find someone that matched. If he did then, Ladybug, Chat Noir, and her would take care of it.


	4. Dreamer

It was the next morning and Marinette was with her mother at the doctor's office. When she had come home yesterday, she told her parents how bad her ears hurt. They saw the tiny bloodstains on her and immediately set up an appointment for today. Marinette squirmed in her seat, trying to keep her hands from her ears. The pain was nearly unbearable.

Sabine placed her hands over her daughter's. "It will be okay, I promise." Tapping Marinette's nose she did have a thought. "Next time, please speak up sooner if you're not feelings so well." Her teen daughter nodded in misery.

The receptionist informed the mother and daughter the doctor was ready to see them now. Resisting the urge to touch her ears again, Marinette entered an exam room and sat down on the exam table as her mother took a seat. The door opened and in walked the doctor, a woman named Dr. Leverna. "Hello, you must be Marinette. I'm Dr. Leverna." She shook both Marinette's hand and her mother's.

"So according to your complaints, you have had some serious pain and a discharge of blood from your ear canal. Can you tell me how long you've been in pain?"

"Um a week?" She could feel their eyes burning into her. "It was nothing serious. I haven't had an ear ache since I was ten. I was positive it would go away on its own."

Brandishing a finger Sabine told her daughter that she still should have told her or her father sooner, instead of just ignoring the pain. Dr. Leverna agreed. "The longer you go without being checked by the doctor, the more serious your condition can get. Let's see if you're ears are infected."

Putting the otoscope in her ears, the doctor examined each ear carefully. There was some redness and swelling. A closer look showed a small tear in the eardrum, as a bit of pus with a bit of blood leaked out. Looking at the other ear she could see them starting to get slightly swollen. Frowning she asked Marinette to describe her pain once more and if she was suffering from any other issues.

Marinette mentioned she still felt a lot of pain, some dizziness, and fullness. That her discharge hadn't started until last night. Her hearing was fluctuating at times. A quick temperature check revealed she had a slight fever. At this point the doctor was very concerned and it showed on her face.

"What's wrong doctor? Am I going to be okay?" Marinette asked, the worry in her tone clear. Sabine stood next to her daughter also concerned.

"What I found is very serious. You had a middle ear infection. That's what was causing the pain and fullness. The pressure built up in your ears and has ruptured your ear drum slightly. That's what's causing the leaking. This is cause for concern because the tear is so small, that most of the fluid is still trapped within your middle ear." Dr. Laverne explained using her chart to explain what was happening.

"Not only can it seriously affect your hearing, the tear allows bacteria from the outside to mix with the liquid. That can lead to a serious infection of the inner ear. In some cases, these infections can lead to death if not treated in time."

"Your outer is swelling is causing extra pain that you don't need. When was the last time you cleaned your ears or took out your earrings to give your ears a rest?" When Marinette couldn't answer that, the doctor told her it would be a good idea to take out her earrings for a while.

"I can't do that! These are my favorite earrings and they were a gift from a friend."

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng, your health is at risk. Since you let this fester, you put your life in danger. I'm prescribing powerful antibiotics to fight the infection. You need plenty of bed rest and I advise you to take Ibuprofen every four hours as long as you are in pain. As an extra precaution to prevent the infection from reaching your inner ear, I'm going to place these ear patches over them for a few days," the doctor explained showing her the patches.

Turning to Sabine she told her, she wanted to see Marinette again in five days, to see how the perforation was healing. If it was healing fine, then Marinette could return to school. If not, they would discuss other options. Reluctantly, the heroine took off her earrings, slipping them in her bag, surprised to feel Tikki brushing up against her finger. After the patches were placed over her ears, they two left the office and headed to get her prescription.

Once home, Marinette was ordered to bed by her dad. "I know you don't like being sick, but you need to rest. Stay in bed, take your antibiotic and pain killer. This cool compress should help bring your fever down. Don't worry about school, we'll take care of it."

"Alright, I'll stay in bed. Can you bring lunch up later?"

Tom nodded and kissed her on her forehead before descending down the steps. Once he was gone, Tikki flew out of Marinette's purse and landed in her hands. "How are feeling Marinette?"

"Miserable, how come you didn't disappear when I took off the earrings like you did last time?"

The little Kwamii smiled at her chosen explaining that her intent wasn't to remove the earrings forever, just for health reasons. "Since it's for your health, I'm allowed to stay out and guard the earrings until you're better. Besides we have to leave a message for Chat about your condition."

Marinette groaned, Chat would make fun of her for sure for getting sick. He would laugh at her. Tikki admonished the teen saying Chat Noir would never do that. He really cared for her. He could catch any akumas that showed up and they would meet him at a neutral location. "Let's make this quick so you can go back to resting."

It was until nearly eight that Chat Noir had time to check his messages on his staff. There was one message from his Lady. Playing it, he was taken aback by what was going on. "I'm very sick Chat and I'm not supposed to wear my earrings for a few days. I need you to handle everything for a bit. Just bring me the akuma at our neutral location and I'll come cleanse them as fast as I can. Sorry about this Chaton." The message ended leaving Chat Noir on high alert.

* * *

It was ten am the next day on Cyprus. Irene/Peace Keeper kept fidgeting as she waited in line to board the plane leaving Cyprus for Paris. Her superiors had finally managed to get her off the island and informed her, that she was allowed to stay in Paris as long as she needed to. She hoped they kept their word this time.

"I hope Melissa stays in contact. She was really sad to see me go," Irene/Peace Keeper whispered under her breath. The young tech understood that she needed to go help her family, still the Greek Cypriot wished she could come. Finding her seat on the plane, the UN's secret thought back to this morning.

" _Irene" was packing her bags after receiving her family emergency discharge. As she tucked the printout of the profile, in the false bottom of her suitcase, a voice from the door spoke. "So you're really leaving and not coming back?"_

" _I'm leaving yes, but I'll likely have to return here once the family emergency is over with," Irene/Peace Keeper commented off hand. She was having some trouble getting the suitcase to close, when Melissa came over and helped her shut it._

" _Likely is not the same as certain. The talks are going well so far. There's a real chance for peace here. I thought you wanted to be here so you could see it," Melissa looked at her with a bit of anger. "You're my friend and I feel like your abandoning me." She had a bitter look on her face._

 _Irene/Peace Keeper seemed to be surprised to hear that. She never had an associate who came right out and admitted that they were friends. "Eres mi amigo también. You're my friend too. I'm not turning my back on your country. I'm just trying to help my adoptive grandfather."_

 _Melissa nodded understanding. She wasn't really bitter or mad, she was just upset that her friend was leaving. The other members of the Peacekeeping Force were very nice and she had plenty of friends in town she could visit. Twisting a strand of hair she admitted she had never met anyone like Irene before._

 _Melissa volunteered to drive her to the airport to form a few new memories. The car ride had been pretty uneventful and they made it to the airport in good time. After unpacking the bags, the young woman went inside to say goodbye. They hugged each other before Melissa gave her friend something._

 _It was a snapshot of the two of them when they met each other. Both of them were holding hands in a way that displayed the computer room and all the broken tech inside there. While Melissa's expression was full of joy and laughter, Irene's looked very unsure yet some mirth could be seen. "So you don't forget me."_

" _How could I? Here, this is my email address. Contact me anytime you like." The address was not real, but anything sent there after going through a serious of firewalls and servers would end up in her secret inbox. It would be a good idea to keep in touch with Melissa, to help her with forming her international time._

The plane took off and soon the flight attendants gave the clear that they could start using their electronics. Using a tablet she brought up the latest news stories about the akuma attacks in Paris. Reviewing the first attack she paid attention to the details.

"Hmm, the woman almost died because of the Akumazation. She had been sedated throughout the entire time. After recovering her strength the only thing she could recall was a vague feeling of wrongness when she woke up." So Master Fu was right. What other experiments has that man tried she thought.

Two more news articles popped up. The unusual target of a Father had made headlines across the country. His unusual powers and the way he kept saying his name, didn't fit with what people knew about Akumas. There was a photo of Ladybug cleansing the _two_ butterflies that appeared out of her yo-yo. Isolating that picture she did a search to figure out what species of butterflies had been used.

"Brown Hairstreaks, a hardy breed that lives in the mountains in the south of France. Same as the Daemon Blue. Why these species? What's so special about them?" she mused as she tapped her device. Moving the articles to the side she opened up the last news report from two days ago about the Mid-Season fashion show. She didn't even need to look up the species used, she could identify the Purple Emperor from previous sightings.

" _Seven akumas descended on model Yuza Shinzo of Tokyo Japan earlier today. She had been flown in on behalf of Mr. Gabriel Agreste to model his showpiece at the Agreste Line-Couture Chic mid-season fashion show. Originally thought to be part of the show the akumas focused all their attention on the young model._

 _Witnesses reported before fleeing the scene that six akumas tried to infect the young model, but were unable to. The seventh one managed to transform the young model into a geisha style Akuma who screamed about vanity. No one is sure what Ms. Shinzo was talking about. She could have been referring to the vanity of models or the concept in general. Local heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir managed to contain the other akumas and stop Vanity before she literally blew the roof of the building._

 _This is the third unusual akuma in less than two weeks. Citizens are afraid for their safety and looking to Mayor Bourgeois for answers. Presently he has no plan in place. At a press release he informed the city that Ladybug and Chat Noir had begun an investigation into these new akumas and would double their efforts to find Hawkmoth."_

"Master Fu wasn't kidding, things are going to get worse before they get better. Hang on everyone, I'll be in Paris in four hours to help. Hope he knows something that can help in this situation."

* * *

At school, the lunch bell rang. Alya's ringtone played and she turned away from the guys to get some privacy. Nino gave his girlfriend an amused look. "Wonder what that's about. She doesn't have the same crazy look in her eyes when she's tracking down a Ladybug or Chat Noir lead. Has she had a chance to bug you yet about the other day?"

Adrien shook his head looking relieved. "After what happened two days ago, I'm surprised I was let out of my _room_ , let alone go to school. My dad is worried how this will affect the sales of the collection." Nino gave a look that said, that his father should care less about the collection and focus on Adrien.

"My dad does care Nino. It's the reason he locked me up. He couldn't find me right after I got out of the building is all," he partially lied. True his father was angry with him for not getting out of the building quickly, even if it was to stick around escort Ms. Shinzo out of the building.

Nino looked like he wanted to say something when Alya returned to the group. Seeing her sad expression, he cupped her chin in his hand so she was looking directly at him. "What's wrong Alya, you look like you lost your best friend."

"I might," she whispered to her friends her face paling. Nino guided his girlfriend to a free table. Her smartphone shook in her hands forcing Adrien to remove it. Both boys had worried expressions on their faces. "Marinette's sick. She won't be returning to school for five whole days."

The boys let out little breath. If Marinette was going to be back by next week, that wasn't too serious. "I'm sure she's okay if she's going to be back by next week. So what does she have anyways?"

"She's got an ear infection," Alya started to say when Nino laughed. That was the big crises? "Dudette, an ear infection is nothing to be concerned about. Your ears hurt for a few days and sometimes you lose some of your hearing for a bit, but it returns. I think you're making too big of a deal about this."

Alya punched Nino in the shoulder and shoved his hat down until his entire face was covered. Adrien wisely backed up not wanting to get involved with the two of them. Seeing as how he had Alya's phone in his hands, he took a look at it to see if he could figure out what was going on. The call was from the Dupain-Cheng lasted at least ten minutes and there was a text from Marinette from last night, "Can't talk. I'm in too much pain."

"This seems more than a simple otitis media," the model commented out loud. He flushed when he realized when he mentioned the scientific name for ear infection. "I had a lot of them when I was small, I ended up needing ear tubes. Using the scientific name kept a lot of people from trying to invade my privacy."

"Nice to know you're normal like the rest of us," Alya commented snatching back her phone. She then launched into her explaining mode informing the boys about the seriousness of Marinette's infection. Nino looked queasy at the mention of bloody pus and Adrien became concern that the doctor was worried that an outside infection could cause the middle ear problem to become worse and might start infecting the inner ear and get to her brain.

"I don't understand it either, but apparently Marinette's been ignoring this for about a week and it's just festered out of control. Hopefully on her return visit, she's better. For her health, her parents asked us to stay away in case we're carrying something, I'm just supposed to deliver Mari's homework." While it was sad to hear about their friend being so sick, it had a bright side. Chloe wouldn't have anyone to pick on. Even going to an elite finishing school, hadn't changed her nastier habits.

I wonder if Ladybug has an ear infection of some kind. Maybe that last akuma busted her eardrum and it was taking longer for the Miraculous Cure to fix her body? Well I can't find My Lady unless she contacts me, so I guess a get well card is out. I could get one for Marinette instead! He voiced his idea to his friends who thought it would be a great idea. Alya promised to get everyone on the school council to sign it too, knowing it would mean a lot to her. Marinette had been working so hard to make the school community fair a big hit.

In Marinette's room, she could describe her experience as pure boredom. Every time she got out of bed, her parents seem to know if she was going to her design table instead of the bathroom. Sabine had been extremely vigilant constantly reminding her daughter taking a break from her creativity was not a bad thing.

"I'M BORED MOM!" Marinette yelled loudly wincing at the volume she was using them. "Sorry, I'm just really restless. I want to do something. Resting in bed and taking pills isn't any fun."

Sabine ran her fingers through her daughter's hair assuring her she understood what her daughter was feeling. If this was a normal ear infection she would have allowed Marinette to work on her designs for an hour or two, but she didn't want to take a chance that her daughter could become deaf or die.

"Are you in any pain?" The teen girl admitted the throbbing had started to come back, stronger than before. Getting a glass of water, she propped her daughter up and helped her get the Ibuprofen down. Gently, she pushed Marinette down, gave her a new compress to keep her fever down and tucked her in. "Get some sleep Marinette. You'll need your strength later when Alya drops of your homework. Dreading the thought of homework, Marinette fell into a deep sleep dreaming about all the designs she planned to make once she was well.

* * *

Irene/Peace Keeper had arrived back in Paris. Glancing at her watch that she reset for Parisian time, she knew Adrien and Marinette wouldn't be out of school for a few more hours. Master Fu healing clinic would also been open for a while, so she decided to go to the loft, a temporary residence for traveling government officials. Luckily, no one was using it at the moment.

The loft was located near her teammate's homes' and had a great view of the streets below. The best part of the loft was a secret exit that led out into the alley. Putting her cloths away, she freshened herself up. Putting on a dress that came from Madrid, she stepped out into the loft.

"You look lovely my dear apprentice, though I wonder how you became so voluptuous," an aged voice said.

Irene/Peace Keeper jumped in surprise at the voice. Turning around she saw Master Fu sitting at the table enjoying a fresh fruit tart as Wayzz examined the loft. Putting her hands on her altered hips she glared at him. Hastily the man tried to make up for hurting her feelings. "This is a much nicer place then that underground facility you stayed in last time Ning."

"Actually, it's Irene Tapia right now. My last assignment had me working as a technician on Cyprus." Getting some food for herself she joined her Master at the table. Taking a bite out of her sandwich, she admitted she was surprised to see him. "I thought you be busy with clients until much later. Why so early?"

"I closed early once I felt you land. The bond between master and apprentice is strong. We have much to discuss."

"Especially with what's going on with Ladybug right now," Wayzz added as he came to settle down on the table. Taking a tiny bite of the tart he added, "Mooro iss in ble toooo." Swallowing he repeated his words saying that Nooroo was also in trouble as well.

Things were more serious than she originally thought. Sitting up straight, she listened as her mentor told her what was going on. How Nooroo was getting weaker as Hawkmoth twisted his powers and was using some the butterfly's life force to speed up his experiments. The enhanced details gave her a clearer picture of what was going on with these strange akumas. Hearing about Marinette being sick and that Tikki was forced to keep her from using the Miraculous was unsettling. "This is not a good time for Ladybug to be inactive. With Hawkmoth experimenting, who knows when he's going to strike next? Is she vulnerable to him now?"

Wayzz stated that the magic of her Miraculous should keep her safe from harm. Tikki's own powers should be strong enough to keep any darkness away, but the sooner Marinette was back on her feet, the safer the city would be. Chat Noir could only hold back his bad luck for so long.

Irene/Peace Keeper bit her lip in worry, staring out at the city before her. "Has anything like this happened before? I read the history book you gave me. I know about the different places the Miraculouses have been used and the reasons why. I really enjoyed the chapters about the Great Guardians of the past, but it was incomplete in many ways," Irene/Peace Keeper mentioned.

Master Fu nodded explaining that an important book about the Miraculous had been missing for centuries and inside it contained many secrets about the users of the past, their abilities, and more. He slid something across the table at her."I need you to start reading this book, it talks about the individual Kwamiis, and you might find it useful in the near future."

Taking the slim novel, she promised to do that later. She told him about the progress she was making with the Kwamii Charms. It was getting easier to link with the Kwamiis and hear their voices. Fingering Tikki's charm, she stated. "Tikki's ability is difficult to use. I'm surprised how well Plagg and I connected. Using his charm and borrowing his abilities came much easier."

"Destruction and bad luck are easier to master because it happens more often. But creation and good luck, you have to make it happen. Have you been able to create a charm yet?" Master Fu asked with patience. He knew it could be difficult drawing even one percent of Kwamii let alone a tenth. When she shook her head, Master Fu promised to help her because without her the darkness would only get worse.

"I might have something that can help us in figuring out who Hawkmoth is. An old teacher of mine put together this profile describing what kind of person we should be looking for," she explained as she slid the folder over to her master who looked at it in wonder.

He heard about such methods to catch criminals, but didn't know if it was really useful. Reading the first few paragraphs, he realized that his apprentice knew what she was doing in getting advice from an old teacher. "This may prove useful yet, Ning."

* * *

Hours later, in Hawkmoth lair, the man was reviewing his last three experiments, trying to figure out where he went wrong. The last experiment had been a slight disappointment considering all seven akumas had emerged successfully with only a few traces of what species they were. With his civilian life's connections he had managed to arrange the perfect host and time to use them. So why had six not been able to merge with any object?

Peering at the video, he zoomed in and watched as the akumas tried to get into the different accessories or even the dress itself only to fly away. It was disappointing that only one managed to create the akuma and its host, while lasting the longest so far, didn't really do much.

He tracked the other akumas with a keen eye, noting how they sucked the life out of inanimate objects. He slammed his cane down on the ground as he watched Ladybug capture and cleanse the six akuma. His eyes widened as he watched his foe stumble to the floor after she summoned her charm clutching her ears as drops of blood fell out.

"Hmm, I've never seen either Ladybug or Chat Noir, bleed in their suits. Bruised, bashed, in pain, but never bleed. Perhaps, Vanity's shouting caused it? No, she was aiming at Chat Noir."

He studied the other videos watching Ladybug extremely closely, studying her movements. In the first video nothing seemed wrong. She fought normally, only a little thrown off by the strangeness of the akuma. After the akuma died on him, she picked up the remains. Possibly to study them?

The second video indicated her luck was not what it used to be as she nearly ended up impaled. It amazed him slightly that she was able to keep herself alive once the gargoyle flung her. Again, she gave no indication she was hurting badly. It was a mystery.

As the flitter above him continued to circle and fly about, he headed towards Experiment Four, the only one he hadn't used yet. The beautiful Pearl-Bordered Fritillary butterflies flapped around their cage. Each one had majored into a proper akuma and only needed instructions on where to go and who to target, but first Hawkmoth needed to review his data.

The Blue Damon was a species that couldn't handle the darkness very well, even after only having the infusion as an egg. It was too delicate and could only hold an Akumanzation for barely ten minutes. No, this one wouldn't do all.

The Brown Hair Streaks, the death rate was too high. If it couldn't stand a little bit of darkness its body during the hungriest part of its life, than only to be half turned as an adult, it was a failure all around. That half possessed thing had even scared him and he was a bad guy!

The Purple Emperors, such high hopes only to be met with failure. After they had grown in size during their chrysalis stage and emerged nearly perfect, Hawkmoth believed he had finally succeed. No, his plans foiled by biology because the males habit of coming to the ground to feed off dead carcasses, while the female enjoyed honeydew.

Experiment Four was his last chance to expand his ranks and be able to create akumas without the need for deals and emotions. The butterflies in the garden appeared very hardy and having darkness infused in them at all stages seemed to stabilize the creature's sped up life cycle. Giving them some of Nooroo's life force directly, instead of passively, had also helped.

" _My life force is supposed to be given passively Master. Using in directly has unforeseen consequences as you have seen. I can support an entire flitter for years passively as I have done for months in keeping your beauties from dying of natural causes."_

" _I don't need a lecture Nooroo, I need you to help me figure out why my experiments have failed to result in a perfect akuma, but answer this question first, what could make Ladybug bleed during an attack?"_

 _The Kwamii was silent for a few minutes, trying to find a loophole in his master's words with no success. "A life threatening injury could cause bleeding if the damage is to sever. A magical attack or minor sickness can also cause bleeding, but it's extremely rare. Miraculouses users tend to not get sick often."_

 _Hawkmoth filed that information away for later. "Thank you Nooroo, now I want to know why my previous experiments failed. How can I ensure that this one succeeds?"_

 _Nooroo felt dirty as he revealed secrets he wished he could keep. "You need compatibility. The Butterfly Miraculous is meant to create champions, what you are attempting is to force an identity on someone. In extreme emergencies, this power would be helpful, but you can't force a persona on someone that isn't a perfect match."_

 _Hawkmoth demanded to know what the Kwamii was babbling about. Quickly, Nooroo told him that none of the previous host was a good match for the personas he wanted. The woman in the hospital hadn't been near death due to childbirth just normal complications and had been sedated. The Father resisted due to his beliefs and was a man of great faith not a zealot. A model might be vain, but the one he infected was secure in her looks and had been happier to wear the showstopper piece then being a pretty model._

" _You need to understand the person you're giving the power to. The persona bestowed to them must be an extension of someone they already are. A person who has the determination to carry out the goal and can handled the power bestowed upon them."_

" _Any other suggestions that could helpful?"_

" _In the past some wielders found ways to conserve their butterflies' powers, by only activating them, when they were needed. The rest of the time they slumbered. Does this help?" Nooroo asked knowing it did._

Hawkmoth broke the connection and thought about what his Kwamii said. A perfect host with a compatible persona. One who could handle the power and could help conserve his power. A flash of inspiration hit him as he recalled something, more accurately, someone, from his civilian life. Yes, he knew the perfect person to send his akuma to. "Fly away my little akuma and be gentle. This girl will take careful handling to make her my secret weapon." He laughed as the akuma headed out the window guided by the light of the moon.

* * *

At the Dupain-Cheng household everyone had turned in early that night. Sabine and Tom were overly exhausted from running the bakery and taking care of their sick daughter. Marinette, who had woken up long enough to do her homework, was once again sleeping deeply. Tikki hovered over Marinette, glad to see her chosen finally resting in peace.

The little Kwamii's stomach growled, indicating how hungry she really was. With Marinette forced to stay in bed and her parents' constant vigilance, Tikki hadn't had a chance to eat anything all day. "A quick snack won't hurt anyone. I'll just be extra quiet." Making sure the earrings were safely secured in Marinette's special box, she phased through the trapdoor heading to the bakery.

A few seconds later the akuma fluttered through a tiny gap in the hatch leading to the balcony. It landed on Marinette's face, causing her to frown in discomfort as it walked up to the crown of her head and melted into her brain. Marinette body shivered as she turned over in the bed, clutching her blanket tightly.

 _Inside her dreams, the akuma popped into existence. Glowing brightly a projection of Hawkmoth appeared in the dream holding out his hand as the akuma landed on it. Looking around the dream world, he had to admit it was a beautiful place._

 _Several mannequins were on display with very tasteful and incredible designs. A shelf of handmade accessories stood in one corner. A design suite was set up in the opposite corner with everything a person could need for designing. A three dimensional printer, a device that turned sound waves into jewelry, a machine to design prints. Clearly the girl wanted to be a top notch designer._

 _Exiting the studio, he walked into a mansion that he was familiar with. Children's laughter caught him off guard as he hid behind a plant. Looking downstairs there were three children. A pre-teen girl with long black hair and green eyes was cuddling with a cat. Next her a boy with blond hair, blue eyes, and lighter skin was teaching a dog some new tricks. The youngest was a toddler who shared his sister hair and eye color, but skin was just a bit more tan. He watched in fascination as a hamster rolled around in its ball clapping his hands in delight._

" _Emma, Louis, Hugo, where are you?" A male voice called out. For some reason Hawkmoth thought he recognized the voice. The kids and their animals let out shouts of joy as they ran through the door heading into dining room. Hawkmoth followed them, still on the lookout for his victim. Peeking into the dining room, what he saw made him smile, not evilly, a kinder gentle smile, as if he was truly happy by what he saw. The famous model Adrien Agreste was now a mature adult handsome as ever in a suit that fit him perfectly. He ruffled the hair of the eldest boy and kissed the preteen on the head causing her to giggle._

 _Standing next to him was a mature version of his target. Marinette looked lovely as her shoulder length hair framed her face and her blue eyes sparkled as she danced around with the youngest in her arms. The animals all had smiles on their faces. "Mommy, I luv your new dress. Did you des des make it?" the little boy asked._

" _This dress?" she teased her son. It was a dress styled similarly to one from the Agreste Line, but had a few more sparkles and unique design elements to it. "Your daddy gave it to me as a present. He can't have his top designer not advertising his business can't he?" She giggled at Adrien._

" _The entire Agreste legacy would look at me shamefully if your mother wasn't the most beautiful creature in the world. I would do anything to make my princess happy."_

" _Oh Adrien, you've already made me the happiest person alive. I have a wonderful husband, kids, and a job I adore. Friends that love to visit. That and so much more, I feel as if all my dreams are coming true."_

 _Hearing that Hawkmoth knew that he had found the right choice for his akuma. All he had to do now was find a way to anchor the akuma into her dreams. Footsteps approaching showed another dream figure getting closer. Enjoying the sense of irony, he merged with the figure and entered the room. "Hello."_

 _The children all shouted in delight upon seeing the disguised Hawkmoth calling him grandpere. He endured their hugs as the couple walked over welcoming him to their humble home. "It's good to see you Father. I'm so glad you could visit."_

 _"Now why would I miss an opportunity to see my perfect son and his beautiful wife? The children are a delight of course, but it's the two of you who have made your lives perfect." The couple blushed as reached inside his jacket and pull out a box. Opening it up a beautiful butterfly hair piece sparkled. "A gift for the most gifted designer in the world."_

 _The young woman blushed as she stammered out that she was only the greatest designer because of him. Taking the gift, she placed it in her hair. Marinette enjoyed the praise of her children as they went on how pretty she looked with the jewel encrusted hairpiece._

 _Adrien thanked his "father" for such a beautiful gift. Gabriel Agreste/ Hawkmoth just waved his hand dismissing him. "My dear, I'm so glad to hear that I have helped you achieve your dreams. I'm sure you have many more and would do anything to make them come true correct?"_

 _"Yes, of course. Achieving my dreams through hard work and creativity is what I do best. Nothing would stop me from doing anything to achieve them" As she said this, the hair piece glowed purple. Her posture stiffened for a second. Her eyes flashed black as she looked at the man before her with seriousness.  
_

 _Gabriel Agreste/ Hawkmoth smiled in pleasure. "That's good to hear because I have an idea for a joint project that will benefit both of us."_

In the real world, purple and black smoke transformed the sleeping teen. It was too dark in the room to see the changes. Marinette sat up in bed, her eyes had a slight glaze to them. Crawling up to the hatch, she opened it and stood on the balcony. A wave of her hand and a sleeping version of her human self appeared in the bed. Closing the door, she walked over to the edge of the roof. A butterfly outline appeared on her face as she listened to instructions. With a nod she jumped off the roof flying away into the night.

Seconds later Tikki returned to Marinette's room. Seeing her chosen still asleep, the ladybug Kwamii settled into her little bed falling asleep. She had no idea of what just happened to her chosen or the darkness yet to come.


	5. Nightmares

Under the cover of the night, a silent figure flew across the darkened sky avoiding all light sources, including the moon. Coming in for landing on the roof of the Le Grand Paris Hotel the figure touched down silently. Standing still, the akumatized Marinette waited for orders. Her eyes still had that glazed look to them and there was something off about her stance, like she wasn't actually present.

"I await your orders Master Hawkmoth," she said, but her voice didn't have its usual cadence to it. Her breathing was steady, but at a slower rate than normal.

 _"This is just a test run my girl. No one needs to know about your existence until the moment is right. For now, I need you to start searching your classmates' rooms, looking for anything that might link them to Ladybug and Chat Noir. Oh, and make sure to give some of them nightmares."_

"Understood Master Hawkmoth, I'll start here with the mayor's daughter and end at the Agreste Mansion."

 _"No need for that, your dream prince wouldn't be involved in any of this. After all why would he want to destroy your lovely dream life?" Hawkmoth felt this Akuma accept the fact and start her mission. "So far so good."_

Marinette flew down to Chloe's balcony and beat her wings. A soft dust released from them and the doors opened. Landing on the sill, she noted with some delight, that Chloe snored. Entering the room, akuma Marinette marched over to Chloe's closet and started ransacking it. Shoes were tossed and expensive clothing torn to bits. Drawers upon drawers fell to the floor as the young teen searched for anything to link Chloe to Ladybug. Next to Chloe's bed was a nightstand, something was sticking out of it, and it was spotted. She marched over to check it when a groggy Chloe suddenly woke up.

"I was having the most horrid dream. Someone was destroying my beautiful, hey who are you and what are snore snore snore." The dust had forced Sleeping Beauty to get back to her so called beauty rest.

Tearing open the side drawer, the akuma growled seeing a fake signature on a photo of Ladybug. She didn't know how she knew it was a fake, she jut did. Angrily she put her right hand on Chloe's forehead. A flashing pink light in the shape of a butterfly appeared around Marinette's eyes. The light fell on the brat's face, which twisted into a scared expression. Removing her hand, a golden glowing ball hovered in it, before being absorbed. She felt a surge of power. her wings brightening for a second, before she turned and fled the room.

Hawkmoth was very pleased by what he was witnessing as his secret weapon went from house to house. Currently, she was at the Lahiffe's residence kicking CD cases and DJ equipment out of the way. " _Check under the bed my dear. There must be something to help us."_

Bending over, akuma Marinette slid under the bed and saw something of interest. Reaching into the corner, she pulled out the flash drive labeled Chat Noir. Crawling back out, she put the drive into Nino's computer, and started accessing it. "Master Hawkmoth, we have a secret Chat Noir fan."

It appeared that Nino was gathering pictures and articles about Chat Noir. There was actually a short interview recorded on the flash drive. No doubt he was gathering information to impress Alya and have her add a Chat Noir section to her blog. This was good as gold.

Pocketing the devise she paused and looked at Nino sleeping so soundly. Walking away, she turned back and stole a bit of his dreams in exchange for a tiny nightmare. Leaving out of the window she had opened she flew off ready to check off the next person on her list.

* * *

In Hawkmoth's lair, he was congratulating himself. He finally picked the right host for his new Akuma. His powers had finally grown stronger. "She's magnificent isn't she? Carries out orders without complaint. Neither Chat Noir nor Ladybug have detected her yet. My favorite part is having complete control over her. She has no free will to go against me."

" _Master, please be careful with this Akuma. Remember, you only have power over her as long as she's dreaming. When she is fully awake you can't control her."_

" _I know that Nooroo," he hissed angrily. "I created this akuma with specific instructions. My dark beauty knows when to hide and it will make certain that like a faded dream, dear Marinette won't remember anything."_

" _You are using your victim's real name?" Nooroo asked in surprise. The naming of a victim was the first step to create a bond between champion and master. After all names held great power. Nooroo felt a little bit of hope rise in his chest._

" _For tonight, after all this is just a test run. If successful, Ms. Dupain-Cheng will earn her new moniker. It's time to test out her full power. My dear, if you could stop for a minute?"_

Marinette paused outside of Nathanial's window. He was the last boy on her list. "Master Hawkmoth, you have new orders?" She listened intently at her new orders. Nodding she took off in another direction leaving her classmate's place. Ducking and dodging through the sky she spotted her target. An almost fully constructed booth for the School Fair. Her wings started beating super-fast as they filled with dust making them glitter. Her butterfly shape gaze locked on the booth, she thrust her palms forward as beam of destructive energy hit its target.

The booth started to fall apart as the color change to black as scary symbols appeared all over it and monster teeth marks covered it. "Master Hawkmoth, the test was a success. Converting dream energy to nightmare energy works on both people and objects."

" _Good job my dear. You have proven to be my most powerful and loyal servant," Hawkmoth praised her. Suddenly through the link he actually experienced Marinette's dream cycle. She was going to wake soon. "My dear, the time has come for you to rest until I need you again. Please return home."_

"Of course Master Hawkmoth, until the night returns." Flapping off, she hurried home and landed on her balcony. Quietly opening the hatch, she waved her hand dismissing the fake and took its place. Lying down, her akuma form sunk into her skin, leaving a normal Marinette, whose ear patches had slightly come off.

* * *

The morning sun peeked through the windows and landed on Marinette's face. She let out whine and opened her sleepy eyes. They weren't glazed over, but they were a little bloodshot. Her posture, voice, everything that was off a few minutes ago was now normal. She pulled the covers over her head trying to go back to sleep, but her body refused to sleep. All at once she felt the pain return tenfold letting out a scream.

"Marinette are you okay?!" Tikki asked in concern flying up to her chosen. "Oh dear, your ear patches have come off slightly. Let me help get them back on right." She was just about to fix the patches when the back of Marinette's right hand struck her sending the little Kwamii flying backwards into the wall.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" growled the teen. Ignoring the stunned look of the Kwamii, Marinette got out of bed and marched down to the kitchen to make herself breakfast, startling her mother, who couldn't believe her daughter was up this early.

"Marinette, I'm surprised you're up so early. Why don't I make you something light?" Sabine turned to get some ingredients out of the fridge only for her daughter to shove her out of the way. She grabbed a day old muffin out of the fridge before storming into the living room to eat it.

Sabine recovered quickly and marched over to her daughter. "Marinette what is going on? You know better than to shove me."

Her daughter didn't answer her. Just tossed the wrapping to her muffin to the floor and strutted to the bathroom. Tom came up the stairs to check on his family. "How are you this morning? Checking up on Marinette?"

Sabine shook her head and informed him their daughter was up and acting differently. The door to the bathroom opened and their daughter came out with an angry expression on her face slamming the door behind her. "Get out of my way!" she shouted angrily. She glared at her father's angry expression. "You have a problem puffball?"

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you don't talk to your mother and me like that. Go to your room and get in bed right now. Clearly you need more sleep."

"No one tells me what to do!" She drew back her fist intending to hit her parents when she stiffened. Suddenly she fell into a dead faint on the floor and shook a little. Tom held her down worried she was having a seizure. Sabine rushed into the bathroom and got the thermometer.

Marinette stopped shaking and went still. She opened her eyes confused. "Papa, Mamma, What am I doing here? Did something happen?"

"In a minute dear, we need to check you out." Tom told her. Taking the thermometer from his wife he asked her to call the doctor and see if they could move up their appointment for today instead of the day after tomorrow.

Taking his daughter's temperature, he noticed her fever was a little bit higher than it had been. She was a bit sweaty and her patches were off exposing her ear canal. Also she looked ragged, as if she hadn't slept well last night. "How are you feeling?"

"The pain is a little worse and I'm starting to hear a bit of crackling." She sneezed, followed by more crying as little more discharge came out. Sabine, who just got off the phone after the receptionist told her she couldn't move up their appointment, went into the bathroom and came out with some cotton balls.

Together the parents cleaned up the discharge, placed the new ear patches, and gave their daughter her medication. Washing a bit of the sweat away, they half covered her up and left her with some bland soda for later. They left to run the bakery, promising they would check on her more often today. Nodding, Marinette turned over in bed trying to get some sleep.

Once her parents were gone, Tikki came out of hiding. She was upset about Marinette's actions towards her. She was about to give her a piece of her mind, when she noticed her chosen crying. "I'm sorry Tikki, I don't know what came over me."

"It's alright, I'm glad you apologized. You're sick and some out of character behavior is bound to happen. Why don't I snuggle with you? My positive energy might help you heal faster?" Her chosen nodded and the two friends snuggled together in peace.

* * *

Later that day, Adrien was having lunch off campus again with Nino and Alya at the same café. Nino had a story to tell them and it was a little hard to believe. "Dude, I swear to you, someone broke into my room last night. All my stuff was thrown all over the place and all my DJ equipment was unplugged!"

Alya laughed a little as Adrien pointed out that his best friend's room was always a mess. Nino face flushed and his expression turned angry. He even took off his headphones to show how serious he was. "Someone was in my room. I know because my flash drive with all my stuff on Chat Noir is missing."

Adrien eyes widened upon hearing that. He knew his friend was a fan, but to collect information on him for Alya's blog was more than he imagined. Lost in thought, he was completely missing Alya wailing at her boyfriend, for losing the device. Just then his phone rang. Taking it out of his bag he was surprised to see the same unknown number accompanied by a text.

"Okay, this is just weird. I got a text from that same number again."

Alya had a dumbfounded expression on her face. Nino was all smiles as Adrien read the text out loud. "My golden haired prince, you are the love of my life, the answer to all my dreams and a loyal friend. In despair I can't even say your name out loud. Know that even though I'm not near to you today, my love will never waver. Until we meet again, your secret admirer."

"That has to be the most romantic yet girly text I've ever heard. Someone must really dig you. Let me see that number, I might recognize it." Before Nino could touch it, Alya grabbed it out of Adrien's hands and erased the text. "It's probably just from a fan. No big deal."

Inside she was thinking how Marinette must be loopy from her ear infection to be sending love texts to Adrien. She would die of embarrassment if he found out about her crush this way! Hopefully Adrien would forget all about it.

* * *

Later that day, Alya entered the bakery happy that it was not too busy. Sabine saw Alya and waved her to back. "Thank you for dropping off Marinette's homework. I'm sure she'll appreciate it later."

Noticing how her best friend's mother looked the blogger Alya felt she had to ask. "Is Marinette okay? I got a weird text from her at lunch. She was going on about love and princes. Is everything alright?"

Sabine sighed and explained what had happened this morning. Alya's eyes widened at hearing about her friend having what appeared to be a seizure. The only reason they hadn't taken her to the hospital was because she returned to normal so quickly. "I've been checking up on her all day and she hasn't gotten a decent nap in with how much pain she's in. I wish I could push her doctor's visit up, but I can't."

"Is it alright if I go talk to her? I'll sit on the staircase and talk through the trapdoor." With permission Alya went upstairs and knocked on her friend's door. A tired and groggy voice responded. "Mom, just come in already."

"It's me girlfriend. Your mom said I could stay visit for a little bit. How do you feel?"

There was a bit of a tumble and some sounds of someone crawling across the carpet. "Alya! I'm so glad you're here, I hate being stuck in quarantine. Do you know they only let me out to use the bathroom? I can't even work on any designs!"

Alya laughed and snorted. Marinette was always a bit dramatic. She would bet all her babysitting money that her friend was lying on her back against the trapdoor, her arms spread wide with a look of defeat on her face. She reminded her friend it was only for two more days and then no doubt she be free. Playing with her hair she asked, "So what happened this morning? Your parents said you had what appeared to be a seizure."

"I fainted and rolled around a little, I did not a seizure. I love my parents and it's nice they care so much, but ugh, I feel like I'm trapped in prison. You think Adrien feels this way at home?"

Shrugging her shoulders out of habit, Alya replied she didn't know. Using this opening she demanded to know why Marinette was sending love texts to Adrien that he would have traced back to her. The sick teen had no idea what her best friend was talking about. Alya told her to check her phone text log.

"Oh my gosh, I don't remember sending this! I must have been high on my medications. Please tell me, you managed to erase it!" Hearing a confirmation the teen let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Any good news?"

"Oh, it was funny. Chloe was on rampage today claiming someone broke into her room and destroyed her closet. Like that would ever happen. Girl probably had a nightmare." Alya paused before mentioning a few other classmates claimed the same thing. Someone ransacked their rooms and gave them nightmares.

"Maybe it's a new akuma! Ladybug and Chat Noir have been dealing with strange Akumas lately. If I can find it first, can you believe the amounts of hits my blog would get! Nino had better have found that flash drive!"

Marinette muttered through the door how crazy Alya was and told her to put her own interests on hold. Someone needed to pick up the drinks for the school fair next week and that person was Alya. Cursing her deputy duties Alya left to go pick up the drinks leaving Marinette alone again.

Marinette staggered back to bed. Tikki hovered in the air. "Oh Marinette, you look so tired. Is there anything I can do to help you sleep?" The bluenettte mumbled something about some pain relievers that could help her sleep were kept in the family's medicine cabinet.

The little Kwamii phased through the trapdoor and headed to the bathroom, making sure to stay out of the way. She didn't want to be accidentally be seen. Slipping into the bathroom she spied the open cabinet. The bottle wasn't too heavy for her to carry. She zipped back to the trapdoor and tapped.

A gracious Marinette open it enough for her to slip in. "Thanks Tikki, why don't you get something to eat or take a nap yourself? With these I'll be out like a light instantly." Tikki was indeed tired and went back to the secret box to sleep. Her chosen took two pills and crawled into bed. She was soon out like a light.

* * *

In Hawkmoth lair, he felt the akuma coming to life. Focusing on the bond he knew the girl was in a deep sleep. "Good, time to see how well my pet does in daylight. _Awaken Dreamwalker, I require your services."_

Once more Marinette was covered in black and purple smoke before emerging as her akumatized form. Once again she created a fake of herself jumping off her balcony and flew into the air. Once she was a few blocks away, she hid in the shadows. "Awaiting orders Master." Once again it didn't appear that Marinette was even aware of her surroundings.

" _Dreamwalker; today is a test of how well you can cause destruction without being seen in daylight. I have a target in mind that would be perfect. Collect as much dream energy as you can before attacking the target," Hawkmoth ordered projecting the image of the target._

"Understood." Running across the roof tops she jumped between buildings always sticking to the shadows. When she came across an apartment complex she took the roof access down to the apartments. She could sense a few adults and some little kids sleeping. Walking out into the hall, her wings fluttered as she spread her dust opening doors and keeping her targets asleep.

Carefully, she moved through the hall, adjusting each camera she came across. Soon she reached the first apartment. Going inside, she saw a couple dozing on the couch. Placing her hands on their foreheads, she drained them of their dream energy twisting what remained into a nightmare. She smirked feeling the rush of power.

She had no qualms of whose dream energy she stole, even little babies. In one nursery, she walked straight past the mother and removed the child from her hands. Stroking the babe's face she gently removed the child's dream energy and gave him a tiny nightmare. Placing the child in his crib she stood still. "I've collected the necessary energy. Permission to proceed?"

" _Permission granted. Remember, you must not be seen!" Hawkmoth instructed her. "I won't lose this time now will I Nooroo? You said I needed practice. Well training my akuma to succeed is just the practice I needed."_

" _Master, I'm sensing something about the host. I think you should…"_

" _SILENCE! I don't wish to hear your voice any longer." Nooroo retreated into his private space. If what he was picking up on was true, then not only was Paris in danger, but the girl could end up near death if this continued._

Dreamwalker was approaching her target, a transport van carrying the drinks for the school fair. Kneeling down on a sign, her pink butterfly outline targeted the back wheels of the truck. Gathering her power, she let it loose bursting the tires. The truck was skidding down the street, when she waved her hand. A barrier appeared stopping the truck.

The driver and Alya got out wondering where the barrier came from and what had destroyed the tires. The teen reporter aimed her smartphone all over the street, but she spotted no one out of place. Returning her attention to the truck she missed the shadow of something flying over her head.

" _A very nice job Dreamwalker, I was impressed by your ability to create items out of dream energy. I don't remember giving you that ability."_

" _An extension of your own power Master. You created me to make your dream come true and will do everything in my power to do so. Anymore targets?"_

" _A few more damaged cars and exploding dumpsters should be enough for now. We don't want anyone realizing the damage is caused by you my dear. Finish up your assignment and return to bed after that."_

Dreamwalker turned around and changed directions randomly. As long as she didn't leave a pattern, then Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn't trace her. Soon she would be ready to battle them to claim their Miraculouses. For now, she enjoyed destroying dumpsters and taking out car engines. She made it back just in time to switch places, as her parents came up with supper. "Ugh, that was some power nap huh?"

* * *

Two days later Sabine and Marinette returned to Dr. Leverna office. There were bags under Marinette's eyes and she still felt sick. Her ear canals were still draining out pus and fluid, with tiny bits of blood once in a while. Confusing her though, was why did she kept feeling a fullness and bit dizzy if the fluid was leaking? Her hearing was going in and out at different times. She was developing a serious headache.

Sabine patted her daughter's hand and removed it when she winced. "Hopefully the doctor can fix this. I know being stuck in bed resting all the time is driving you a little crazy." Soon they were ushered into the exam room.

When Dr. Leverna entered the room she took one look at Marinette was and was shocked by what she saw. Her patient looked worse than the first time she in for treatment. Glancing down at her notes, she was greatly concerned by the mention of a possible seizure. "Ms. Dupain-Cheng, it seems that you haven't been on the mend as I hoped. How are you feeling?"

"Mostly tired. I'm still in a great deal of pain and my ears go from leaking fluid to being filled so much I can barely hear. Oh and I have a serious headache." Her words made the doctor frown even further. Turning to Sabine she asked what happened right before, during, and after the possible seizure.

"Marinette was acting completely out of character. She was rude, aggressive, and tried to attack us. Then suddenly she fainted to the floor and shook about for a few minutes. When she woke back up she didn't remember anything from a few minutes ago." Clasping her hands together she added that during the last three days, these moments of out of character behavior popped up at random.

"This could be a sign that the infection has progressed to her inner ear. I need to run a few tests. Marinette, tilt your head a bit please?" Dr. Leverna took a sample of the drainage to test in the lab. Next she took a look at the ears.

The outer parts of the ears were looking almost normal except for a tiny bit of swelling still. Inside her canals were greatly inflamed and the small tear in the ear drum had grown allowing more fluid to leak out, but she could still see a great amount still being blocked.

Taking a tuning fork, she waved it over Marinette's ears checking her hearing loss. It was not the same for each ear. Her right ear could still hear high pitched sounds and her left ear could pick up lower vibrations meaning her brain was getting mixed vibration signals messing with its ability to translate that into sounds. That could account for Marinette's seizure.

After a few more tests, she decided to talk with the Dupains-Chengs. "Alright, the news is not as good as we hoped. Your infection has progressed, but I don't believe it's reached the inner ear yet. The swelling on the outer part of the ear has gone down significantly. You should be able to wear earrings again in another week and half, just to be cautious."

Marinette smiled brightly hearing that she could soon wear her Miraculous again and be back to protecting Paris. Chat Noir hadn't reported anything out of the ordinary yet. Still if Hawkmoth could release an akuma at any time and she needed to ready. Her joy was short lived. "Your outer ear may be healing, but it's another story entirely inside them. Your ear canal is inflamed by the drainage and the tear in the eardrum has grown bigger. I'm worried that some bacteria has started to mix with the liquid, but I can't be sure until the test results come back. If they do show bacteria, then we can fight it with a specific antibiotic."

The doctor wrote a new script for a different antibiotic hoping that would help. She also put in new patches and told the teen that she needed to keep her ears dry and try to not blow her nose. "Since your infection has progressed I want you to stay home a bit longer and take it easy."

Turning to Sabine, Dr. Leverna informed her that if things started to get worse, bring Marinette in immediately for a checkup or take her to the hospital. If things did progress much further, there was a high likelihood that Marinette might need to have surgery to fix her ear drums. Hoping that wouldn't happen, Sabine promised and the women left the office again.

On the ride home, Marinette clutched her purse tightly. Inside she could sense Tikki's worries about her. Could she still be Ladybug if she ended up needing surgery? What if the infection rendered her deaf at some point? Could she develop an abscess or meningitis? Would she die? At the moment all she wanted to do was get back to her room and crawl into bed to cry.

* * *

When Marinette got back home she ran upstairs to her room, too scared to talk to either of her parents at the moment. Flopping on her chaise Marinette started to bawl her eyes out, despite the pain it was causing her. Tikki flew out of the purse. "Marinette, you must not give into fear. I know what the doctor said was terrifying…"

"Terrifying? Tikki what's going on is a nightmare! I could die from an ear infection!" The teen wiped her tears away and sat up the chaise, curling her hands around her knees. "Why are my ears getting worse and not better?"

"Marinette, you are getting better. The swelling on your outer ear has gone down and the infection hasn't reached your brain yet! This new antibiotic will surely fix everything," the little Kwamii told her chosen hugging her cheek with all her might.

Marinette hugged Tikki back and then went over to her desk and used her key to open her special box. Laying on top of the diary was her Miraculous. Touching them, she could still feel her connection to them. She hesitated for a second before picking one up.

Just then there was a soft thump on the balcony and someone knocking on the hatch to be let in. Dropping the Miraculous she slammed the lid down on her box and hid it. There was another knock on the hatch. Marinette grabbed her squirt bottle hoping it would distract the visitor on the roof. Climbing into her bed she pushed got ready to open to open the hatch. Her hand was just inches from the door when a familiar voice was heard. "Marinette, its Peace Keeper, can I come in before someone notices me up here?"

Startled she opened the hatch and indeed was Peace Keeper in her uniform standing on the roof. The young woman jumped into the room and slid down the bed ladder and took a seat on the chaise. Marinette secured the hatch and stared at Peace Keeper trying comprehend the young woman who kidnapped her and ended up freeing both Miraculous users and becoming their teammate was in her room.

"Who, what, where, when, why?"

Peace Keeper smiled and answered the five W's in quick succession. "To answer your questions: who we are looking for is Hawkmoth, what we need to do is stop him from continuing his experimentation and hurting his Kwamii Nooroo. With a bit more research we will be able to find out where his lair is. When I arrived here a few days ago, I got in touch with the Great Guardian. He thinks I can help you to find out why he's doing this now and how to stop him."

Marinette just stared at her before sitting on her desk chair wincing in pain. Peace Keeper looked at her sadly and pulled two items out of her belt. Two tied up hot cloths filled with heated salt inside. "It's a natural remedy. The heated spice will help draw out the liquid and will help get rid of the pain. I used it before and it worked like a charm."

Tikki agreed with Peace Keeper, past Ladybugs had used this remedy before and it really did help. At this point the young teen was willing to try anything. Holding the bags to her ears she was amazed how the pain went down so quickly. "I can't believe I didn't try this sooner."

Peace Keeper grinned and then got down to business explaining what had been going on since they last met and what she had uncovered so far. The teen paid close attention knowing this would be useful once she was well enough to fight again. When the young adult reached the point about her hunch that there was a new akuma Marinette interrupted her. "How can you be so sure of that? There hasn't been anything on the news or online about an akuma running around. They're pretty hard to miss."

Pressing a few buttons on her holocomputer, Peace Keeper cross matched the last three akuma attacks with stories and symbolic beliefs of butterflies. The teens eyes narrowed knowing this must be what was inspiring Hawkmoth's new akumas. Reviewing the list she saw one section had a question mark by it. "As you can see, the only section that hasn't be used are the stories told by the First Nation, (Native Americans). As you can see, butterflies are highly linked with dreams and spiritual beliefs. The Great Guardian read something about how a lot of neighborhoods have been plagued by nightmares."

Marinette recalled what Alya had told her a few days ago. Did someone actually break in and give them nightmares? For what reason. Looking at Tikki she wondered if the little Kwamii could add something to the conversation.

"With Hawkmoth experimenting with Nooroo's powers, it might be possible that he's hidden his akuma. According to these beliefs all rituals seem to take place at night. That could mean there's a sleeper akuma. Someone who's infected but unaware of it."

Both ladies looked at one another and shuddered at the thought. Peace Keeper should go patrolling with Chat Noir to keep him safe. In meantime, Marinette was going to design something that would protect her ears and keep them from getting further damaged so she be ready to cleanse the akuma.

* * *

Chat Noir was doing his patrol across Paris. He was still a hero and enjoyed his freedom. Right now, his heart was very heavy. He came to a stop on a rooftop overlooking the Seine and sighed. "Why is doing a patrol by myself making me feel so lonely?"

 _"Maybe because you been doing it for six nights now and you miss your partner? It's a natural feeling between Ladybugs and Chat Noirs, whatever their bond, the longer they're apart, the more depressed they'll get. Why do I always end up with love sick depressed kids?"_

 _"I'm not love sick or depressed. I just miss My Lady and Marinette is all."_

 _"Cookie girl? Now why would you mention her now? Do I sense feelings for her?"_

 _"Plagg! She's my friend that's all! She wasn't in school again! Alya got a text from her saying that infection had progressed a bit and they wanted to try another antibiotic to wipe it out. I'm just concerned is alright?"_

 _"Yeah right. You know isn't it a big coincidence that Ladybug is laid up at the same time Marinette's sick?"_

 _"That's all it is Plagg, a coincidence."_

A tap on his shoulder brought Chat Noir back to the real world. "My Lady it's so good to see…you?" Peace Keeper was standing behind him looking a bit nervous. He jumped backwards and hissed. "Oh Peace Keeper, I wasn't expecting…"

"To see me? I know." She fingered her Kwamii Charm necklace, especially Tikki's. Both of them sat down on the roof. Chat Noir played with his claws for a few minutes wondering what to say. Peace Keeper kept staring at him, then biting her lip, and looking away. She muttered that Ladybug was still sick and had asked her to help him with his patrol.

"This is stupid, we should be able to talk."

"Why? Because everyone wants to be a cat?" Chat Noir laughed hearing that line. That was his very line from the Aristocats movie. "That's good, but two of make the most unusual pair of Siamese if you please."

"Really? If you had some white going down I know you be a tuxedo style Mittens, then again you could be the reverse of Oliver. You mostly remind me of Bagerhera if he borrowed Baloo's philosophy."

"No doubt about it, you are the spitting image of Nala!" The two laughed together as the ice broke over their wordplay and Disney characters. Chat Noir was surprised that she knew about Disney and she responded who in the world didn't know at least something related to Disney?

"I'm feeling a lot better. It feels good to laugh and talk normally. I missed you Adrien." Seeing the panic in his face she called him Chat Noir even though they were too high up to be heard. She apologized noting she should respect his alias all the time. Chat Noir said it was cool and they started to patrol the city with Peace Keeper making sure she wasn't fully seen.

They had been patrolling for almost an hour when the lack of conversation got to Chat Noir. "So um, my, oh what nickname would fit you?" Chat Noir asked as he pole vaulted across the street. Behind him Peace Keeper shot out her zip line and slid to the opposite side of the street. Retracting it she climbed up and over, setting the pace now as she did some aerialist moves to get ahead.

"My friend would be nice Chat. After all, aren't we trying to be friends and teammates?" Peace Keeper shouted as they both dropped down to ground about five blocks from her loft. Breathing in the night air they both started walking down the street.

"I know you're still having trusting me. After all it's only been a short time since we last saw each other. You and Ladybug want more from me. To answers questions honestly, not hide things from you two, and you're frustrated that I know things you don't know about the Kwamiis."

The Black Cat nodded. He remembered a lot of what she had told them about her experience with the Great Guardian and the Charms/Miraculous. Still it helped to have a reminder. "You mentioned before that your life growing up was similar to mine."

"In many ways it still is. My superiors have been keeping me busy on missions so I haven't found time to create my own team. It's not that I don't want to tell you more about my life and day job, but I'm still getting used to having people know who I really am. Not that I have a clue who that is and being the Great Guardian's apprentice is challenging enough."

The silence resumed but this time it was welcomed. Giving each other understanding looks both of them seemed to find a peace with one another. Both needed to back home, Chat so he could get some sleep and Peace Keeper, so she could research a bit more. Waving goodbye they took off in opposite directions to confuse anyone who might be following them.

Dreamwalker watched both of them go. She had been tracking them both to learn their routes. She had been surprised to see Peace Keeper instead of Ladybug and wished she had been able to get close enough to hear them. "This could be bad for you Master."

 _"Don't worry my dear. I'm actually looking forward to playing with Peace Keeper. Drink up your fill of dream energy before you rest my dear. You'll need it for the upcoming battle."_

* * *

 **I know you all want the full details of Marinette's akumazation form and you'll get, next chapter, when it can have the biggest impact with her partners.**


	6. Sleepwalker

Nooroo was alone in the lair caring for the flutter while his master was at an important meeting for his civilian job. He hoped it went well because Hawkmoth would be in a sour mood if it didn't. Nooroo needed his master to be in a good mood if he was going to plead with him about letting the latest Akuma go.

While Hawkmoth could create the Akumas and order them around, it was Nooroo who truly was connected to the champions' souls. The Kwamii knew who the person was inside and out. He knew Marinette was Tikki's chosen, he would know his "sister's" optimistic energy anywhere. To prevent his master from learning that, he had mixed a tiny bit of his own energy to change Marinette's protecting her from Hawkmoth prying telepathy.

Looking at the flutter he joined them flying around. The mauve colored Kwamii was less worried about Hawkmoth learning Marinette's secret as he was about keeping her alive. "What should I do my beauties? I can sense her body fighting an infection, a serious one. Even when that new akuma is dormant its presence affects her body's normal functions. A long term akumanzation will wreak havoc on the human body."

The butterflies responded in their own language agreeing that the situation was not an ideal one. Coming together the flutter tried to figure out a way to help their friend. A small group separated from the flutter and headed to the table where the remaining Pearl Bordered Fritillaries sat in their cage. The group talked among themselves for a few minutes, before working together to lift the cage into the air and dropping it, smashing it to pieces.

The remaining five butterflies scattered in all directions as the flutter descended on them, chasing them around the room in a territorial dispute. The akuma butterflies zigzagged everywhere outpacing the normal butterflies. Nooroo listened in disbelief as the flutter declared war on the five akumas. Landing on the table he watched in horrible fascination as the entire room exploded in war.

When Hawkmoth returned he was in for the shock of his life. Half of the flowerbeds had been destroyed, the table knocked over and his entire flutter had killed three of his new akumas as they lay dead on the floor. "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON NOOROO?!"

The Kwamii flew up to his master and meekly told him. "The flutter is having a territorial dispute with the new akumas. They refuse to accept them in the group and as such have decided to kill them. It's a natural behavior."

"Wings open now!" Nooroo was sucked into his Miraculous transforming the man. Twirling the cane around Hawkmoth exerted his control over the entire flutter ordering them to stand down. It was the first time the flutter tried to resist, but a bit more telepathy had them behaving. The entire experience was something he never expected.

"My dear beauties, why would you rebel against me? Have I not taken good care of you? Why don't you like the new additions?" The flutter's response was to land on the ground at his feet closing around him possessively. When the two akuma grown butterflies tried to get closer they completely covered the man making it clear they wanted the duo to go away.

 _"Nooroo, you have five seconds to explain what is going on or so help me…"_

 _"The flutter don't like those homegrown akumas. They feel they are invading their territory and that you have forgotten about them. They were here first and naturally bonded to you through my Miraculous."_

 _"Are you telling me that a bunch of insects are smart enough to destroy a cage and go on a rebellion? That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!"_

 _"Between the flutter's collective consciousness, combined with our intelligence, it's not impossible. Previous wearers encountered the same thing."_

Hawkmoth growled knowing he should have asked more specific questions when he started his experimentation. It was clear to him that the flutter would continue to attack the new akumas or follow him around to protect what they considered "theirs." It was not an ideal situation. His civilian identity couldn't be linked to his villain side. A flutter of butterflies following him would make anyone he encountered very suspicious. He needed to find a way to stop this rebellion now.

Concentrating on the flutter he projected his thoughts to them asking them what he could do to make them accept the new akumas among them. All the butterflies flew up into the air and used the darken room to help them form the sign for no akumas in the flutter. Twisting in the air they now formed an arrow that cut across the ceiling indicating death. Finally they formed a picture of Marinette and burst apart indicating they wanted her to be released from his control. They all hovered in the air waiting for an answer.

"You really expect me to get rid of my new akumas and release the one inside Dreamwalker? I will never do that! Behave yourselves right now!" Ignoring his commands; the flutter headed to window crashing against the glass in attempt to break out. A few butterflies fell to the floor dead. "Stop this right now! Nooroo what did you do?"

 _"Nothing master. My link with the flutter is strong. They might not be happy because they can sense my unease," he admitted quietly._

 _"What unease is that Nooroo?" Hawkmoth hissed dangerously._

 _"Master, I... Surely, you must have noticed something is different about the young lady that you're currently using?" Nooroo could sense his master's foul mood getting worse so he pushed forward before he lost his courage. "The sleeper akuma is not in the best of health Master. She's sick sir. She has an infection in her ears."_

 _Hawkmoth mentally rolled his eyes. That was the problem? "Nooroo, humans get minor infections all the time. I'm sure in the past you had masters who caught the sniffles. I'm not going to release Dreamwalker for something as silly as an ear ache."_

 _Nooroo poured a lot of emotion into his mental voice as he pleaded for his Master to listen to him and understand the seriousness of the situation. "Master Hawkmoth you don't understand. The powers of a Miraculous when used on someone when their sick can cause lasting damage. That is especially true when picking champions! You have to believe me, I'm begging you to release this one akuma, and I will never ask something like this again."_

 _Nooroo let out a mental scream as he was bombarded by negative emotions. He felt his life force being tugged right out of him and fed directly into the flutter causing the butterflies to hide on the ceiling._

"Let me make one thing clear to all of you. I _own_ all of you! Your lives are in my hand. I can kill you all with a single thought!" To proof his point he started using his telepathy again causing all the butterflies and Nooroo to scream in pain. Twirling his cane he struck out striking down several butterflies.

It was clear what the message was. Any more rebellion and the whole flutter would be killed. The Kwamii headed the warning of his master. He wouldn't beg again for the life of Tikki's chosen. He would have to find another way to help save the poor girl.

* * *

At Marinette's home, the young teen had finally convinced her Kwamii that letting her design and work on something for about two hours. She had so many ideas bursting to get out. Sitting at her desk, Marinette erased a few lines on the design for an animal symbolizing friendship outfit. Dogs and Dolphins were two animals that symbolized that, but she wanted to have a new approach, so she chose a weaver bird.

The colorful birds represented family, cooperation, community, and friendship because of their nesting habits. From her research she knew that the Buffalo Weaver bird was consider part of the Small Five of African animals which added to its uniqueness. "What do you think of this one Tikki? I added fake feathers in overlapping intervals to make the boa warmer and purchasable for people with feather allergies. I don't want a repeat of Adrien sneezing!"

Tikki giggled remembering that incident. Marinette had felt so bad making him sneeze like that with her hat. She vowed never to make the same mistake again. Coloring in the boa, she started to sketch the matching shoes. Not heels, she had learned in the past how many woman suffered foot problems by wearing heels all the times. Instead creating pure flats, she would added a bit of height in the back, and make the toe roomier for people with wide feet. That would ensure blood flow to the extremities.

"It's nice that you're being so considerate of people's needs. I've seen many Ladybugs choose to endure the pain for fashion instead of making reasonable choices." Tikki shuddered as she remembered the days of the corset. One of her chosen had nearly died during a fight because of how tightly she was laced. That was one time she did appreciate Plagg's intervention by ordering his kitten to disintegrate the blasted contraption.

"Being sick and trying to come up with a way to protect my ears has taught me the importance of being body conscious. Speaking of that," Marinette put her sketchbook away and pulled out her project from a drawer, she showed the nearly completed earmuffs. Instead of a thermoplastic or metal band, she had used a stretchy elastic material to keep pressure of her head. She had chosen soft fleece for protection and comfort. All she needed to do was finish stitching the muffs.

The fleece was the same color of Adrien's hair and the stretchy elastic was the color of his eyes. It's too bad this isn't winter, but at least the fabric choice won't cause me to sweat while wearing them, she thought to herself. Humming a song she had heard on YouTube, she started to get into the zone.

Tikki giggled again. She enjoyed watching Marinette work. It was always fascinating the way she could twist fabric or repurpose existing accessories to make them even better. Her chosen had stuck out her tongue as the needle went in and out of the fleece. You could hardly see the thread as it blended in naturally. "Those earmuffs are going to look so cute on you, though I hope you won't need to wear them for long. Wherever that akuma is hiding, for both our sakes, I hope it doesn't attack before your finished."

Marinette made no indication she heard the little Kwamii. Also, judging by the look on her face, it was apparent that she was daydreaming again. Probably another fantasy about how to get Adrien's attention. "I'll leave you to your work Marinette. Remember, when the alarm goes off its back to bed!" Tikki blinked and headed outside to the mini garden.

The teen continued to sew, but it was an automatic process at this point. In her mind she could see herself with Adrien sitting on her balcony enjoying some freshly made macaroons. She would turn to him and offer a macaroon.

His green eyes would sparkle and they would laugh as she fed him the dessert. He would lean over and pretend to give her the treat only it wouldn't be a treat, but a wonderful kiss. The softness and gentleness mixed with the scent of cologne and cheese? (Why did he smell occasionally of Cambered?). Oh it didn't matter at all. The world could explode and she be happily kissing her beloved Adrien.

As she daydreamed about the perfect kiss and photo shoot, the butterfly hair piece glowed brightly. The sapphire eyes on the piece became human eyes looking around at the daydream. A typical teenage fantasy it appeared. It was time to turn this daydream into a real dream.

" _Go to sleep young designer. You need to go to sleep. Imagine how comfy your bed is right now. Wouldn't you love to go to bed?" a voice whispered._

In the real world, Marinette's body slumped on the desk as her project fell to the side. The sound of alarm going off caused her to shift in her seat. The chair rolled out from under her as she hit the floor causing a loud thump. Tikki came back inside. "Oh Marinette! Are you okay? Wake up!"

* * *

 _Running, she kept running down the street until she was at the school. Panting, the bluenettte sneaked inside and hid behind one of the staircases watching the student council working hard on completing everything for the School Community Fair in two and half days._

 _Alya was talking to the deputy in charge of the budget. The girl was double checking some figures before looking at the older student with a grim line on her face. "Are you sure you can't persuade the vendor that we're not responsible for the damage to his delivery truck? There's no way we can pay half the cost of having his truck fixed."_

 _The auburn hair girl threw her arms up as she exclaimed she already tried that. "According to him, since this delivery was for the School Community Fair, then as part of the community, the school should pay compensation for the damage to the vehicle."_

 _Both girls looked frustrated. How would they fix this problem? The hidden Marinette frowned. Footsteps on the staircase scared her as she slipped into a corner. She smiled dreamily as she saw Nino and Adrien walked over to Alya. "How's my main woman?"_

 _"I don't know, did you find that flash drive yet?" Alya demanded rolling her eyes. Nino let out of groan of frustration. "You are never going to let that go are you? I told you it's gone, but I can get everything I had again. Well, accept maybe the interview. That was a random coincidence."_

 _Adrien patted his buddy on the back. "Don't worry about it, you got lucky once and maybe you'll get lucky twice. So what's with the long face Alya? Don't tell me Chloe tried to take turn the booth into a shrine for her again."_

 _"No, we might not have a School Community Fair if we can't pay for the drinks vendor car repairs. How are we supposed to afford it? He asking for eight hundred ninety five euros! That about a thousand dollars in American."_

 _"Well, I could pay for it. Believe me my Dad won't notice if a tiny fraction of the family fortune goes missing." His friends hugged him in thanks. From her hiding spot Marinette frowned. Adrien shouldn't have to pay for something that wasn't his fault._

 _A shroud fell open her. What just happened? Where was she? Why was everything so quiet? She tried pushing the shroud off, but it started to wrap itself around her body. Her legs locked together and pressure built as the shroud tighten._

 _Marinette was struggling and rolling around, desperate to keep her hands free. "Let go of me! You won't take me. Uh no no!" Twisting around she managed to keep her right hand from being covered. Grasping the edge of the cloth, she tugged at it. "Come on, rip, rip, I need you to rip!" The shroud ripped apart as a blinding white light shined on her._

Marinette's eyes opened and she started to gasp. Her head was throbbing. She tried to getting to her feet only to trip and fall down. "OW! That hurt!" Rubbing her butt Marinette finally took in her surroundings. She was in the bakery kitchen near the oven. Everything had been cleaned and put away for tomorrow. When she saw the clock, she let out a shriek so loud it woke her parents upstairs.

Tom was down in the kitchen in a few minutes. "Marinette, what are you doing down here? It's two in the morning. You should be in bed."

"How is it two in the morning? It was two in the afternoon when I was working on my new earmuffs in my room! How could I lose twelve hours?" At this point she was crying in fear. Sabine draped her bathrobe over her daughter and started humming a lullaby to calm her down.

"It's okay Marinette. You fell asleep at your desk working on your project. We put you back in bed. Alya, Nino, and Adrien came by around five to check on you. They were very concerned about you. After they left we had dinner, you did your homework and went back to sleep."

Marinette didn't remember doing any of that. She scrunched her eyes as she tried to recall the events her mother described, but all she could remember vaguely was being at the school. That didn't make sense, why would she be at school when she was quarantined here?

Looking down at her right hand, she was surprised to see an impression in it. It appeared to look like her wrist had been bound tightly. "What is going on with me?" she whispered as she was taken back to her room. As soon as she was back in her room she called for Tikki.

"I'm right here Marinette. Don't scare me like that!" the Kwamii scolded her chosen. Seeing the frayed expression on the teen's face Tikki floated up and rubbed her cheek against Marinette's. In response the human hugged her friend tightly sniffing. "I don't remember anything Tikki. The last thing I remember is working on my earmuffs and then I woke up in the bakery kitchen."

"It will be okay Marinette. I promise."

* * *

The next day, Adrien was getting ready for the day, when his phone rang. It was Alya. "Hi Alya, I'll be at school in about twenty minutes. I have the check ready."

"Don't bother, the vendor isn't in any shape to be demanding money. He was admitted to the hospital yesterday for sever night terrors. He's going on and on about how a winged human bombarding him with nightmares."

Plagg's ears perked and Adrien's eyes narrowed upon hearing that. Alya was still speaking, but Adrien interrupted her saying he see her in a little bit. "Think Hawkmoth latest akuma is finally on the attack?" he asked.

"I don't need to bet a lifetime supply of cheese wheels to tell you yes. We've been suspecting this for a few days now." For once the Kwamii seemed to be taking this seriously. He would never admit he was worried about Tikki, knowing that she might be sick along with Ladybug. Sliding into Adrien's jacket the cat knew they were in for a big day.

Arriving at school, the model hurried to class to see his friends. Thankfully Chloe hadn't arrived yet so he sat down in peace. Nino and Alya entered a few minutes later. The teen reporter had a sparkle in her eyes. Nino gave him a thumbs up indicating that his girlfriend was no longer mad with him.

"Look at this!" she brought up a picture of the vendor's damaged truck. Another swipe and now the truck looked ready for the junkyard. Another swipe and the truck was repaired. "Can you believe it? The truck was transmogrified to a down right nightmare than a perfect dream come true."

Adrien couldn't believe what he saw. It was as if he used his powers on the truck then Ladybug fixed the damage. Still, his Lady would have contacted him if she was feeling better. "You mentioned something about the vendor himself?"

"That was the weirdest part dude. When he wasn't going on about the winged teen, he kept muttering your name! Well at least mentioned it in his sleep." The DJ, showed him a recording that had been passed around. The traumatized man was muttering in his sleep, "Butterfly girl! No, please don't give me anymore nightmares! I promise Adrien Agreste won't have to pay for damages to my truck ahhhhhhhh!" The man was bombarded by an energy beam as he lay on the ground screaming in his sleep. The recording came to an end.

The trio of friends raised their eyebrows. How could that vendor know that Adrien had planned to pay for the cost of the repair? They hadn't told anyone about their plan. The Akuma must have heard them talking about it, but why go out of her way to ensure Adrien didn't have to pay the man?

Plagg and I didn't sense an akuma yesterday at the school and I'm pretty sure we would have spotted someone with wings hanging out. There is no other explanation though. We didn't even mentioned it to Marinette when we visited her Adrien thought. Thinking about his sick classmate left an unpleasant sensation in the model's heart. Laying a hand across his heart he wondered when he started to miss Marinette so much that it hurt. The pain was equal to his worry about Ladybug and not being able to comfort his partner in her time of need.

"Hey Alya, why do you think Marinette was so quiet yesterday? She usually loves chatting with you." Alya frowned as she recalled their visit yesterday. They had all been sitting on the stairs leading up to Marinette's room and talked through the trap door. What had surprised the red head was that Marinette had managed to talk to Adrien with stuttering, even if it was only to answer a few questions. Her best friend hadn't been really responsive, just giving vague answers to questions.

If I knew creating a barrier between them would help her talk to Adrien, then I would have used it sooner Alya thought to herself. Just then Ms. Bustier entered the room ready to teach the class. "Alright everyone, please sit down. We have a lot to cover today. We're starting a new unit today." Opening a box next to her feet, she called on Ivan to pass out the books. It was a collection of myths, legends, and folklore from around the world. In fact, Adrien was sure he recognized the book from somewhere, but he wasn't sure where. Maybe his father's library?

Opening his book, he managed to keep his expression neutral. Someone had written something in his brand new book. _I hope you enjoy this book my beloved. Pay attention to the stories from Native Americans. They are my favorite. Your Secret Admirer._ How in the world did his admirer know he get this book and sign it without opening the box?

Plagg peaked out of the jacket's sleeve staring closely at the handwriting. It looked awfully familiar. He knew just knew he's seen it somewhere before in Adrien's room, but where? Oh curse his cheese filled brain! "I'll just have to look later today, after my cheese snack of course."

* * *

That afternoon Adrien was at his fencing lesson. Usually he worked with his foil, but today Mr. D'Argencourt had switched the boys to the epee to see how well they could manage it and the change in the rules.

"Remember, you must anticipate your opponents' moves! There is no right of way and your whole body is a target. Adjust your grip Pierre, the epee is not a puny foil! Nice double touch Maurice. Watch your footwork Adam! Excellent technique Adrien."

Adrien smiled underneath his hood. It was nice to be told he was doing something right. All those time's running around Paris rooftops and using his staff had strengthened his legs and arms so the weapon didn't feel so heavy in his arm. He blocked an incoming attack and pushed forward. Seeing his chance, he darted in and the tip of his epee touched the other fencer's hand scoring another point. That was one of the most difficult place to score.

Both fencers stopped and bowed to one another. Adrien removed his helmet smiling. "That was a good bout Adam. You certainly had me on my toes." His opponent nodded before saying, "You heard D'Argencourt. My footwork needs to improve." The boy shrugged as if it was no big deal. He was about to fall into his stance when a loud unbearable yowling could be heard.

The entire class covered their ears as Mr. D'Argencourt demanded to know what was making that racket. Adrien wanted to pull off his face. Why did Plagg chose now of all times to make a cat call? "It's probably a stray cat that got stuck in the school. I'll go see if can find it and make it shoo." Leaving the class, Adrien swiftly headed into the locker room. Opening his locker he was about to give Plagg a piece of his mind, when he saw the state his Kwamii was in. Plagg was yowling as his body twisted and turning as he glowed a steady black. Underneath him, Adrien's phone was filled up with voicemails.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Plagg whined out loud. "She's been trying to contact you for an hour!" Adrien heart pounded, was his Lady all better? No wait, she didn't know who he was and would not be able to contact him via a phone. Grabbing his phone he called PK back. She picked up before the first ring was done.

"I was wondering when you would pick up. I'll make this quick, I've gathered a lot of information that could help us find the sleeper Akuma and put an end to Hawkmoth's experiments. Meet Ladybug and me at the address I gave Plagg, tomorrow afternoon. I'm in the apartment labeled Irene Tapia." The call ended and Plagg returned to normal. Adrien stroked his Kwamii in attempt to ease some of his pain. Tomorrow would be a big day.

* * *

The next afternoon was the day of the School Community Fair. Everyone was excited and couldn't wait for it to begin at five that night. Originally Adrien had promised to finish setting up and manning his class booth for the first hour, but he pretend he had a photo shoot promising to come later.

Pole vaulting down the streets, Chat Noir couldn't stop grinning. "Hang on My Lady, I'll be there soon! Everything will be just fine." Finally he arrived at the apartment. Checking the apartment residences he climbed up his staff and ducked inside the loft. "The Cat of the Hour has arrived!"

"Do you really neeeeeeeeeeed to make joooookes right now?" A familiar, but tired voice asked. Ladybug was propped up on a couch, wearing a pair of earmuffs. Peace Keeper came over with a glass of water and some painkillers that Ladybug took. "Hi Chaton."

He took a seat next to Ladybug with a concerned look on his face. "I didn't realize you had gotten this sick. Are you in any pain My Lady? Can I help you?" Ladybug winced at the volume of his voice so Chat Noir stayed quiet not wanting to harm her.

Peace Keeper laid a gentle hand on Ladybug's forehead feeling a bit of a fever. "As soon as this is over I'm driving you home. You need to get more rest for your doctor's visit the day after tomorrow." Ladybug whined a bit hearing that. Peace Keeper stared at her with the expression, _do you really want to die swinging home because you have no balance?_ Turning to the side she got in a more comfortable position as the meeting began.

It started out as a review of what each person knew. From what they gathered Hawkmoth had started to experiment when he got impatient about not being able to get the heroes' Miraculouses. So he had done his research and acquired at least four species of butterflies from the South of France.

"I tried figuring out who had purchased butterfly gardens of the species we encountered. There's just too many companies and some of these butterflies are really expensive to get. I could only narrow it down to about seven hundred names," Chat Noir admitted with a scowl on his face. For all he knew Hawkmoth could have bought the gardens a year before."

"You did your best and if it helps, you added a tiny bit to the profile," Peace Keeper whispered to him. Chat Noir's face lit up upon hearing that.

Ladybug closed her eyes and held her right hand to her head for a moment, wishing the painful headache would ease. "He's been trying to force personas onto people, because there's no negative emotions to influence the people's he's targeting." She paused, looking like she was about to sneeze, but stopped.

Opening her yo-yo she connected it via Wi-Fi to Peace Keeper's TV to play some videos on it. The trio watched the video together until she paused it, highlighting the people and the different akumas. "I noticed that each time we encountered one of these new akumas, not only where they different species, but the amount of dark energy in them was different. You mentioned to us last time that you encounter Hawkmoth Kwamii, Nooroo?" Peace Keeper nodded so Ladybug continued, "Was very weak and fragile. Do these new akumas indicate he's stronger or weaker?"

Plagg's Kwamii Charm lit up as they all heard the cat talk. _"Weaker. Nooroo is not the strongest Kwamii in usual circumstances, with his powers being used for evil, all this experimentation must be draining him. Hawkmoth probably doesn't care that the more he forces Nooroo to give up his life force for the experiments, the closer he brings my "brother" to death."_

" _We have to hope that Nooroo still has a supply of energy from his years dormant to keep him going," Tikki added._

It was a harsh statement for the trio, especially the teens. For the first time they were really seeing how vulnerable the Kwamiis really were. Peace Keeper pulled out the profile Ms. Delong had created for her and showed it to the teens. It was very interesting as it revealed part of what made their enemy tick. Still they needed to remember, that it was just a tool, not a direct guide.

"Even with this partial profile, combined with the latest evidence Chat Noir's gathered on the akuma sightings, we might be able to figure out who the sleeper is and free them before Hawkmoth takes control," Peace Keeper pointed out to the group. Chat Noir promised he keep an eye out, but he was running late to a previous engagement and needed to go.

Taking his leave he headed towards him home to put on some fresh clothes before heading to the school. Seeing Ladybug struggling to get through the meeting while being sick made him really nervous, especially about her health and his friend Marinette's. Maybe he should stop by Marinette's before he went to the school, just to see how she was feeling.

* * *

"Irene" glanced at her passenger as she drove her back to the bakery. The teen looked even paler than before. Even after taking some Ibuprofen for the pain she still didn't feel any better. Marinette had the Miraculous in her hands listlessly. "Give me those. I'll keep them safe until your home. What was I thinking asking you to attend that meeting?"

"It doesn't matter if I'm sick or not, I'm still Ladybug and I need to be on top of anything that's happening." The teen reluctantly handed over the earrings as "Irene" put them in her pocket. "Have you ever been sick before?"

The young woman laughed and nodded yes. "Did you think because I'm a secret I don't get sick? Believe me, I've gotten sick before. I never had a caring family to nurse me back to health." A few minutes later they passed the school and saw the fair going on. The teen looked unhappy.

"Did you know the class reps were in charge of planning and setting up the entire fair? I feel like I let them down getting sick. I wasn't able to do very much."

"There's no reason to feel that way. You did what you could. Now let's get you up to your room. Are you sure your parents are out?" Getting that confirmation the UN agent pulled the car around to the side entrance to home. Opening the door, she helped Marinette, with Tikki's encouragement, back to her room and into her bed. "Get some rest, if I get beat on the Akuma I'll contact you via Tikki. You got this Tikki?" she asked.

"Don't worry, everything is under control. We'll see you again soon Peace Keeper." It was only five minutes later that Tikki realized that the young apprentice had forgotten to give back the earrings. "I'll be right back with the earrings!" she told Marinette zipping out the hatch. A minute later Marinette was stumbling out the bakery door heading for the school. Her eyes were glazed over, her breathing different, everything about her stated she wasn't her normal self.

Adrien was hurrying towards the school when he spotted Marinette walking towards the school. "Marinette wait up!" She kept going barely making it across the street without looking. Her toe clipped a crack and she started to go down only for Adrien to catch her.

"Marinette are you okay? What are you doing out here? You need to go home, you don't look well." Strange, she was looking at him, but at the same time she wasn't. As he tried to steer her back to her home she pulled away from him. "Marinette, come on. Let me help you."

He didn't hear the car coming up from behind or see Tikki and "Irene" get out of the vehicle wondering why Marinette was just standing there looking at them. The teen clutched her head and ignored the amount of pain she was in. She whispered, "Adrien" before she was covered in black and purple smoke causing everyone to take a step back.

Adrien's eyes widen in disbelief as he watched his classmate turn into the sleeper akuma. Not sweet Marinette, not when she was seriously sick! Peace Keeper felt sick to her stomach and Tikki fell from the air. How could either of them not known the truth?

When the smoke cleared away they got their first glimpse at Dreamwalker. She was dressed similarly to the Butterfly Maiden Kachina doll. She wore a red jacket like shirt with white trim at the bottom of the sleeves, with a turquoise collar and bracelets. A black shirt with a dream catcher on it, (even though that object was related to a different tribe), and a long black skirt. Her light blue tights merged perfectly with the boots of the same color. A magenta butterfly tattoo covered her face, from her eyes down and her pigtails had grown longer and were mixed with starlight silver hair. The pigtails looked like antennas. The most unusual feature was the magenta colored butterfly wings surrounded by gold dream energy balls.

"I am Dreamwalker and I serve my Master with unyielding devotion. Tonight is the night that Ladybug, Chat Noir, and their mysterious friend Peace Keeper, fall."

 **Go to my deviantart page, kaliannshevlin, if you want to see a picture I made of Marinette in her akumatized form!**


	7. Dream Meanings

Adrien just stared in disbelief as his friend changed into one of the worst Akumas he'd ever seen before. She was looking at him, but he didn't think she actually registered what was going on in front of her. She flapped her wings and headed into the sky, twirling around in the air as she gained altitude. She was going to dive bomb the School Community Fair!

"Got to do something before Marinette hurts anyone! Not to mention herself!" Ducking behind a dumpster he shouted his transformation phrase, "Plagg Claws Out!" Instantly he was Chat Noir once again and took a gigantic leap onto the school roof.

Dreamwalker plunged into the school courtyard and hovered above the crowd before she announced her presence. "Hello everyone! I hope you're all enjoying this fair and having a wonderful time." There was a few screams as people stood there in shock. Another strange akuma had finally appeared. To some people in the crowd she appeared familiar, but no one couldn't quite place her. The Akuma's antenna pigtails wiggled around as she started to flap her wings furiously. "You all smell as if your dreams are coming true. A dream of a successful fair, having a good time, even gaining some confidence. Too bad it's about to become a real nightmare!"

Her gaze locked onto the decorations as the magenta colored butterfly light surrounded her face. She raised her hands and a beam of nightmare energy dispersed striking all the decorations at once. The brightly colored decorations turned pitch black before coming to life to attack people. Soon everyone was running around in a panic.

 _"Dreamwalker, you need to gather as much dream energy as you can from this crowd. The heroes won't be far behind and you need to be a full power to defeat them."_

"Of course Master. It shall be done." She flew closer to the booths spotting a group of incoming students huddling behind a flower booth. She released her dream dust causing them to fall over asleep. She placed her hands on the sleeping students, sucking their dream energy right out of them as she gave them nightmares.

Sensing a change in the air she dove to right, and missed being struck by Chat Noir's staff. "You'll have to do better than that Chat Noir to stop me from giving everyone here never ending nightmares." Chat Noir landed in front of her with an expression of determination and care.

"I'm not going to let you hurt anyone Dreamwalker! Please listen to me. You have to ahhhhhhhh!" He went flying as she created a pinball release spring out of dream energy. He went through four booths before he stopped himself by using his claws. Remembering how he used his tail before, he used it to grab a piece of pottery and flung it at Dreamwalker aiming for her chest. It struck her hard as she clutched her chest tightly. For a moment her eyes changed just a bit, the glazed expression vanishing for a split second. Her hands went to ears as she whimpered in pain before reverting to her previous stance.

 _"What was that about Plagg? For a second it looked like Marinette was aware of her surroundings."_

 _"I'm not sure, this hasn't happened before. You better just continue to wear her down, maybe the answer will come to you."_

"I really hope Ladybug, is feeling a bit better to help out. I'll even take Peace Keeper's help right now," he said to himself as he darted about avoiding being struck by destructive nightmare energy blasts. Several prizes came to life piling on top of him. Gathering his strength he flung them off and shredded them in the process. Extending his staff he used it as lever to topple over the stacked cartons on drinks. Dreamwalker shield herself as glass went flying and wings were soaked so much she couldn't use them.

"Seems you don't like water wings huh?" Chat Noir laughed. Inside he was incredibly worried. Only half the people attending the fair had managed to get out. The rest were either asleep or hiding. Still, no sign of either of his partners. How far away did Ladybug live? The irony of that question would be answered very soon.

Peace Keeper was already here in her uniform observing the fight below. She was using all her bio-sensory equipment to get to the bottom of how Marinette/Ladybug could be the sleeper Akuma in the first place. Master Fu and Wayzz assured her that it wasn't possible because of all the positive energy around her.

Next to her head, the little Kwamii was fretting. "Oh, how could I miss something like this? I'm over five thousand years old! I should have realized something was wrong when she acted out of character." A stream of tears slid down Tikki face as she continued to blame herself. "It's my fault entirely. I knew from past experiences that Ladybug's magical defenses go down when the body is fighting an infection. I should have eaten more, so I could help keep her energy levels normal."

Peace Keeper didn't acknowledge the Kwamii's words. Her eyes kept darting from sensor input to the fight below. Dreamwalker had held her own in hand to hand combat, powering up along with way. Chat Noir was fighting with everything he had, but he was hesitating to use his Cataclysm with no clear target in mind. There was a beep and a red screen flashed before Peace Keepers eyes. "This is worse than we originally thought. Tikki, come on we have to stop them from fighting right now!" Without a second thought, she snatched the little Kwamii and flipped off the roof landing on the second floor. A quick glance told her she had seconds maybe to stop a catastrophe from happening.

* * *

At the moment, Chat Noir had pinned Dreamwalker up against the door of a classroom where her family and friends were hiding in. All accept Alya who was standing on a stool so she could film this fight.

 _"Dreamwalker stop struggling and take his Miraculous already!"_

"Understood Master." She stopped struggling keeping herself pinned to the door. "Give me the Miraculous. My Master needs it to fulfill his dream. His dream is all that matters." Again her tone was off and he swore her breathing was slowing down more.

"What about your dreams Marinette?" he asked, shocking everyone in the room. Alya dropped her phone as her parents now recognized their daughter. Chloe wanted to explode and demand Marinette pay for giving her nightmares and ruining her closet only to be held back by her dad.

"My Master is surprised you know who I am when I'm not serving him." Suddenly Dreamwalker's wings started to glow as her classmates and few adults fell asleep with painful looks on their faces. A dazzling gleam caused Chat Noir to be blinded as he rolled around in the rubble of the booths.

There was no way he could have known that any previous victim Dreamwalker attacked, she retained a connection with, allowing her to drain them anytime she needed a power boost. Firing another nightmare blast the remains scattered in every direction along with anyone hiding among them. Chat Noir was buried in a corner of the courtyard. Pain was shooting from his ankle. There was a soft clink as his ring hit the floor and rolled under a piece of wood. Plagg appeared holding his head. "Oh, I could go for a cheese flavored smoothie right now."

"Plagg, we need to transform again. Marinette's coming!"

Plagg shook his head. He needed more cheese to power up another transformation. He could feel Dreamwalker getting closer. "Oh rotten cheese wheels. Stay put kid, I need to talk to Peace Girl." Leaving Adrien, Plagg started to crawl through the wreckage, following his connection to his Kwamii Charm.

The wood changed into a cage. "Prepare to meet your end Chat No… Adrien?! My prince, what are you doing here?" Dreamwalker question. She quickly turned the cage into fluffy clouds for him to lay on, as she knelt down to exam her prince and noticed the sprain in his ankle. "I'm sorry that you got hurt."

Adrien gave her a lopsided grin as he rubbed the back his neck. Ten seconds before she had been out to get his Miraculous and now she was treating him like he was the most important person in the world. "Marinette's its okay. Really I'm fine, I'm more worried about you."

Dreamwalker tilted her head to the side, his words not making any sense to her. "Of course I'm fine beloved. Why wouldn't I be? This is our dream date and of course my clumsiness would cause to you to trip. Just hold still a bit longer." When she had spoken again it seemed she became aware of her surroundings.

Hawkmoth was watching everything Dreamwalker was doing, allowing her to attend to the person her dreams centralized around. Her interaction with the model would strengthen his connection his perfect Akuma.

 _"Still, why would Adrien be under all that wreckage? I swear I saw Chat Noir flying in that direction. It can't be that he is…"_

 _"Master, I see something!"_

 _Out of the corner of Dreamwalker's eyes another shattered booth was aged into dust as Chat Noir stood up. Seeing the Akuma occupied, he ran towards her._

 _"Dreamwalker behind you!"_

Dreamwalker stopped what she doing and fired a nightmare beam. The cat themed hero dodge and used her as a springboard to get to the second floor. Giving her a signature Chat Noir salute he let out a joke. "I would love swat with you more, but I need a recharge. Feline you soon!"

Dreamwalker's antenna pigtails thrashed around in anger as the hero got away. With a wave of her hands the clouds turned into a floating throne. "Take Adrien somewhere safe. I have to get the ring." Fluttering her wings she gave him apological smile. Adrien started to worry where she was going to put him as the throne obeyed her command. There was a familiar whir and a long string was lassoed around his chest and he was pulled right off the throne to where Ladybug was standing. "I hate to be fashionably late, but I wanted this dream night to be perfect." Undoing the lasso she had Adrien lean on her. "Come on, we need to get you out of here."

Dreamwalker was not going to let that happen, as she locked her gaze on Ladybug's arm, ready to use a nightmare beam, to turn it to stone. "Not this time Dreamwalker!" a voice from below shouted. A rope dart wrapped itself around the Akuma's boots and yanked her down to the ground. Peace Keeper jumped over her and released the weapon as the Kachina look alike stumbled to get her footing.

Reaching into a belt pocket, she pulled out a small device that Melissa had shipped overnight to "Irene." "Let's hope this prototype works," Peace Keeper muttered. The UN agent went on the attack as she raced towards Dreamwalker. Two dream energy beams fired, turning the concrete into a field of grass.

"Think you can catch me off guard, I don't think so." Dropping down she started sliding towards her. The sleeper Akuma flipped over her foe, her turquoise bracelet grazing the UN agent. "Gotcha, activate sound blocker net!" A small red chip beeped as the Akuma found herself covered in a red energy net that attached itself to her clothing and formed protection around her ears.

"I don't know if you read lips, but this net is designed to block outside noise from reaching your ears by messing with air molecules. Same thing will happen if you try to talk to us." Promising to be back soon the agent told everyone to remain safe until Ladybug could fix this.

* * *

Hurrying to the loft, Peace Keeper hoped it would be a while before Hawkmoth figured out how to get rid of the net on his victim. Upon entering her temporary home, she saw a shocked Adrien, sitting in a mini couch, looking at his hero persona stuttering. "Ho wwwww how iss sss thissss posss posss ible?"

Chat Noir laughed before sticking out his tongue to lick his lips. "How dense can you be?" Ladybug stomped on his foot and waved her finger at him, scolding him for being rude to his chosen. Grumbling a bit, Chat Noir glowed black and turned back into Plagg, with the ring around his neck. Bits of magic hung in the air as some of the magic went back into his body while the rest went into his Kwamii Charm.

Adrien has a frozen expression on his face. He reached out and touched Plagg, who moved so his ears so he could get a good scratching. He even let out little purr. "See, my kitten didn't break Tikki. Are you going to change back now?"

Ladybug nodded her head. Waving her hand there was a reddish pink glow and Ladybug turned into Tikki, the backs of the earring slipped over her antennas. Her big eyes drooped as she took off the earrings handing them to Peace Keeper. The UN nodded as she fingered her Kwamii Charm necklace to comfort herself. She sat down on the couch with Kwamiis on her lap munching on their food.

The blond opened his mouth to ask questions, when Peace Keeper stopped him with a glance. Fingering her necklace she took a deep breath and let it out. She picked up a pad of paper and did some doodling on it and gave it to Adrien to look at.

The picture showed Ladybug and him standing next to each other fighting. He followed an arrow pointing to the next scene. It showed another picture this time the heroes were in civilian clothes as an enemy approached. The next scene showed the Kwamiis wearing their Miraculouses with a plus sign and a picture of Peace Keeper clutching their charms with a wave around her. The final picture showed the little fairies turning into their chosen and fighting by PK's side with a small clock that read ten minutes in it.

"Okay, the Kwamii Charms exist to protect the Miraculouses from being taken while the Kwamiis are dormant. You mentioned that the Great Guardian or you, his apprentice, use them to protect the Miraculouses and the Kwamiis at all cost," the boy stated as he inclined a shoulder towards the young woman. She inclined her head and gestured for him to continue. "This is another defense mechanism. If something happened to the Miraculous heroes in the middle of a fight for the box, then the Kwamiis can temporary take the form of their bonded one as long as you transfer some of your life force to them via the Charm?"

Plagg smiled as he landed on the boy's head and gave it a rub for being right on. It was a great trick to keep people from figuring out who their chosen ones were, but at the same time it was draining holding human form and using their powers with the Miraculouses without a partner, that's why it was only for ten minutes.

The blond model looked a little overwhelmed by the fact that Plagg could turn into _him_ that almost forgot that Tikki was there without her chosen. Glancing around the loft, he noticed that there was no sign of a sick girl. If Peace Keeper had been delayed because she was getting Ladybug to a safe place, then where was she?

"She's not here Adrien. I wish I didn't have to make this choice for her, but right now her very life is on the line. She could die and take half of Paris with her." Removing a blank picture from a compartment, she asked Adrien to close his eyes and think about the qualities he most admired in Ladybug then apply them to any girl in his class. "You already know who she is subconsciously, but you have to make the conscious connection if the glamor is to fall completely. Once you do, the photo will develop."

She watched him as he thought about his interactions with Ladybug. His smile frowning a bit as recalled activities with the girls. His heart almost exploded as he realized what he had been oblivious to before. Opening his eyes, the photo showed Marinette smiling happily as she worked on a design in her room. "Marinette is Ladybug. What are we going to do now that she's an Akuma under Hawkmoth's control?" he whispered to himself.

* * *

Peace Keeper stared at the floor in shame. Tikki wasn't the only one who missed the signs. As the apprentice of the Great Guardian, shouldn't she have been able to sense something was wrong with Marinette? Master Fu had even told her he felt an increasing darkness and that she was the only one who could keep it from spreading.

I can't give up before I start. We all made the mistake of not realizing who was the new sleeper Akuma, but we have to keep trying everything to fix this. With the stakes this high, we can't afford to lose she thought to herself. Standing up, she snapped her fingers getting everyone's attention. "We need a plan, but before we can make one all three of you must understand what we're up against."

Pointing at Adrien she commanded him to get some medical books from the bookcase. Tikki went to fetch some magical supplies that were tucked in a secret hiding spot next to the bed. Plagg didn't argue with her, making sure to lock down the place and retrieving the Kwamii novel. Clearing the table, Peace Keeper set up her laptop and clipped the news articles, to a timeline she jotted down. Soon everyone was in place.

"Alright, the first thing we should talk about is how Marinette became vulnerable enough to be infected without knowing it." Glancing at the time line it appeared that when Marinette fought the first experimental akuma, being knocked around after an explosion probably had blocked her Eustachian tubes. That's what lead to the initial symptoms.

"Tikki, can you show me on this timeline when Marinette started to hide her pain, but sometimes it showed?" The little ladybug nodded as she picked up a pencil and started to write times and dates of the incidences. It was clear that during the other two attacks the the infection had gotten worse. When Tikki started to write about Marinette's weird behavior Peace Keeper stopped her.

She tapped the date of the initial appointment. "This is day things changed. Tikki, where were you and the Miraculous after the visit?" Hovering in the air she mentioned that once they came back home she had been forced to stay in Marinette's special box with the earrings because of the constant checks her parents made. "I didn't even get to eat anything all day. I had to wait until it was really late to get some sweets from the bakery."

"Your chosen must have been infected when you went to get a treat," Plagg stated. Floating down he looked at the timeline himself before floating back to Tikki. "Please don't tell me that you spent all day charging the earrings after Marinette took them off. You did didn't you? Dammit Tikki, I'm supposed to be the lazy one! I bet you forgot to give her some of your energy too!"

Adrien had a confused expression as he watched Plagg continued to scold Tikki, who started to argue back at him, reminding all the times he messed up with his kittens. That got him going on how her bugs usually didn't get sick and that Tikki and he had stayed pretty healthy for the last hundred years. Having enough, Adrien whistled loudly to stop the Kwamiis from arguing. "Someone want to tell me what's going on?"

"This illustration might help you," Peace Keeper calmly stated. She had opened the Kwamii novel and turned to a specific page. The page was faded and the illuminated page had lost most of its coloring. Bits of the page were frayed. The model could still make out seven humans lying on beds being healed by their Kwamiis basking energy. The seven Miraculous were resting in the box Peace Keeper described. Flipping the page the illustration now showed the seven humans in agony as their partners were scattered around. Looking closely he could just make out someone wearing his ring and looking like he was about to puke.

"I don't understand. One side shows the Kwamiis helping with the healing and the other they look like it was making them worse." Thinking back to that Aztec akuma he recalled how crazy she acted because of her blood loss. A memory of him with his mother at the doctor's office. She was holding him as he coughed horribly due to a sore throat. She had asked the doctor for a different type of throat medicine, because the standard made things worse. _"Remember Adrien, always ask for all options when it comes to getting better. One type of medicine might be good for you and not for another."_

The model understood now. Having a sick person wearing a Miraculous could cause unforeseen consequences on the human body. It was better to have their partners receive a minimal dose of Kwamii energy during the day to keep the magical protection up. Plagg came to rest on his shoulder, tired from arguing with Tikki, who looked like she was exhausted. "So we know how Marinette got infected and that her infection got worse because Hawkmoth has been using her. So why aren't we out their right now doing something? You could use the earrings this one time and…"

"It's not that simple Adrien. I'm bonded to Marinette so no one else can use the Miraculous unless she dies or willing gives them up."

"Besides, your girlfriend is sicker than you think. Hawkmoth really went all out when he created this akuma. Its not going to be easy even to get to the akuma considering it's practically out of our reach."

Tired of being confused he demanded Peace Keeper to explain everything. Doing as he asked, she showed him what her scanners picked up about Marinette's brain activity then compared it to two other samples. It matched the second wave almost perfectly except when a strange spike would appear. That strange spike appeared in the third one.

"These brainwaves show that Marinette is in deep sleep yet able to perform complex activities while her mind isn't completely conscious. The spike you see is the connection between Hawkmoth and his victims. Putting this all together along with other results, indicate Marinette is a sleeper agent in every sense. She's sleepwalking and Hawkmoth is using this to control her better."

That information surprised him. "Sleepwalking? So that's why she doesn't seem aware of her surroundings and her actions are a bit off?" Peace Keeper nodded, flipping open a medical textbook she showed him the entry about sleepwalking. Patients suffering from the disease could do little complex activity or a lot. Sometimes a episode lasted as little as three seconds, other times it could be three hours. The point was that some of the complex behavior they exhibited could really hurt the patient or others.

"It's a common misconception you shouldn't wake a sleepwalker. Scientist had proven no one will die if they are suddenly woken up, but they're times you _shouldn't and should."_ Peace Keeper pointed to some highlighted section in a couple reports. "If a sleepwalker is just walking around or doing something simple, such as washing their hands again and again, then it's best to just guide them to their beds again. There are cases when it's necessary to wake a person up despite the danger."

Reading the case study, Adrien noted that when sleepwalkers attempted to leave the house or use sharp objects, the person should be woken up as quickly as possible to avoid disaster. There were cases where people drove to a fast food restaurant and ended up crashing into a fence and getting a pole in the mouth for it. There were a few cases of people committing acts of violence, such as murder or assault towards others, because they hadn't been woken up or stopped in time.

At the end of the case study, there were suggestions and warnings about waking a sleepwalker. A person being woken up by loud sounds or painful pressure would be very confused and strike out, injuring themselves in a struggle or the other person by hitting or pushing them, because it took up to half an hour for said person to completely become conscious. It was best at times to try to wake them from a distance so not to get hurt. Even then, you had to keep an eye on the sleepwalker to make sure they didn't fall back into a deep sleep.

"That explains why you used that net and got us away from Dreamwalker. You didn't want to wake her up, but shouldn't we want her to wake up so she stops being an Akuma?"

"For a physic whiz, you sure are out of your league with biology. Think about it kitten!" Plagg flew into the kitchen and came back with a rather large lemon. Tikki gave him some makers, no one knew where she found them, and proceeded to turn the lemon into a make shift version of the human brain.

"Okay, the akuma is in Marinette's brain, specifically the parts that control sleep and dreaming," Plagg lectured pointing to the red colored areas. "While she's asleep the akuma is whole and in control. When she wakes up though, these parts of the brain stop working and the orange parts come back online. An awake Marinette means there's no way to get the akuma because it will have broken apart and merge with the brain matter."

"I didn't know you knew so much about biology," Adrien commented off hand. Picking up the brain lemon, his heart sunk. They couldn't risk waking Dreamwalker because the akuma would disappear and she could end up hurting herself due to where and what she was doing while sleepwalking. Brain surgery was out because the akuma became part of the brain cells and there was no way to cut it out.

Tikki sniffed and cried a little. Peace Keeper gave her a tissue to blow her nose. "We can't break her skull open to cleanse her like a normal akuma. Even if that somehow worked, the akuma could die in her mind and the brain would start attacking itself. Her ear infection would turn deadly and then she…" Not able to say the words Tikki buried her face into a pillow on the couch letting her tears flow.

Peace Keeper face looked grim. "Hawkmoth created a perfect Akuma. What's worse, the longer Marinette is Dreamwalker, the longer Paris will suffer never ending nightmares." Tapping a few keys on the laptop she projected an image in the air, a file about dream research, with a picture of doctors.

"According to most recent studies done by doctors at the National Sleep Foundation, while doctors still have not discovered why we dream, the phenomenon itself has been linked to emotional and physical health. Everyone dreams, but not everyone recalls them for different reasons. Most studies have shown that dreams help people work out emotions and problems that their waking mind can't. It also gives different parts of the brain a chance to recharge. The study concluded that if humans never entered R.E.M. sleep and dream, the body would be stressed to a breaking point."

Having nightmares every night for who knows how long can cause stress, insanity, and in a small number of cases, death by proxy. If Dreamwalker keeps turning dreams to nightmares by draining her victims, then in a few short weeks all of Paris could be dead Adrien thought to himself. He shivered at the image of bodies strewn all across the streets of Paris with scared expressions on their faces.

* * *

Their pity party didn't have long to be sorry for themselves. An emergency broadcast interrupted their thoughts by taking over Peace Keeper's laptop. They could see Ms. Chamak on the screen. Turning up the volume, her voice came in loud and clear. "Hawmoth's latest Akuma Dreamwalker has been on the move. Neighborhoods have fallen into deep sleep. EMTs have reported that the infected are suffering from nightmares."

"Dreamwalker is apparently being very selective in her targets. Several buildings have been changed into what one would only describe as dream homes and others have been turned into living nightmares. Ladybug and Chat Noir, along with a mysterious third party, engaged in battle with Dreamwalker, but since fled after rescuing fashion model Adrien Agreste. All of Paris is wondering where their heroes are now."

The report ended and Adrien smacked his fist into his hand. They had to do something. He started to stand up only to hiss in pain and fell back to the couch. The pain from his sprained ankle came rushing back now that Dreamwalker's dream energy had worn off. The Kwamiis gently settled the boy down. Peace Keeper got a bag of ice and laid it on the injury. "You're not going anywhere Adrien, not with that ankle."

"We need to do something! I can't just sit here when Paris and My Lady need my help." The model tried to get up again only for Plagg to scratch his face as he forced the boy to stay lying done. Plagg questioned PK asking if the Great Guardian had enough strength to help. She shook her head. If Master Fu had been able to do something, he would have reacted by now. No, this was her test, to find a way to save Marinette and Paris or make the hard choice to put an end to the threat. He eyes slid to the slim novel about the Kwamiis giving her an idea.

Sitting up with a small smile on her face, gave the others hope. "We only have two viable options. The most ideal would be if we could convince Hawkmoth to release her from his control leaving no lasting damage." That suggestion earned her barking laughter at her expense. Like that was going to happen. "The second choice we have is to have the Kwamii of dreams to open a portal into the dream world. If we can defeat the akuma in the dream world then maybe Marinette will be freed."

Hearing that made Adrien's heart beat in joy. They could save his Lady! "Great idea! So do we have to awaken that Kwamii or is he the one that this Master Fu has?" Adrien asked excitedly. Then he noticed everyone's expression and he felt his heart fall into his stomach, "No, no, no, don't tell me our only hope is…"

The UN agent gave him a grim nod. "Nooroo, the Kwamii of Change, whose powers come from Creativity and Dreams, who's Miraculous currently belongs to Hawkmoth," she informed him calmly, as she ran her hand down the opening page of Nooroo's chapter. "Nooroo is the source for all the myths and legends about the dream world, especially about the part with butterflies. He's the only one that can help us."

Plagg and Tikki looked at one another and started speaking at rapid pace in their native tongue leaving the two humans clueless. Plagg pointed out that Peace Keeper hadn't earned their "brother's" trust so his Kwamii Charm was useless. Tikki argued that if they combined their powers, with some help from Wayzz, via his charm, then they could contact him without alerting Hawkmoth. They had nothing left to lose.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Nooroo was sitting miserably in his Miraculous, watching as Dreamwalker continued to push herself closer to her death. He had given up on persuading his master into letting the girl go. _"It's hopeless. For the first time in my long life I'm going to be directly responsible for a death."_

" _Not if you help us stop Hawkmoth," a strange yet familiar human voice whispered to him. He could feel his fellow Kwamiis boosting the telepathic link. He retreated into his private area. "Your voice, you're the one from before who challenged my Master."_

" _I am. My name is Peace Keeper and I'm Master Fu's apprentice. Nooroo you can still stop this, we just need your help. We need you to open a portal to the dream world, specifically Marinette's."_

" _I don't know if I can! Hawkmoth is using my miraculous right now and it's taking nearly all my power to keep it going. Opening a portal and creating a link to a specific dream without alerting him might be more than I can do."_

" _You are the Kwamii of Change! You alone have the power to change the fate of Marinette. This time, Paris needs_ _ **you**_ _to save it. I know the darkness scares you, maybe it's time to step into the light."_

" _Alright, prepare for the ritual. I'll be ready when the time comes to open the portal. Remember, we can't risk the Miraculous and you need someone whose already part of the dream in order to not arouse suspicion."_

" _We'll be ready. Contact us soon. Thank you Nooroo."_

Back at the loft, the Kwamiis and Peace Keeper were setting up the ritual to send Adrien's dream body into the dream world. The first step was to make him as comfortable as possible in the bed. Tikki held the dream catcher ready to attach it after Peace Keeper finished burning the sage and blessing the dream catcher. She prayed for what she wanted the dream catcher to help them accomplish.

"Hang the dream catcher Tikki. Plagg, place the dream charm on Adrien's wrist please."

"Are we sure this is going to work? I mean isn't this ritual for allowing good dreams to pass through the catcher and nightmares get stuck?" Plagg asked as he attached a bracelet with a little pyramid on it. There was a tiny bit of dream energy stored into it.

"Yes, and it will work that way still. As long as Adrien's dream body is in dream world, he needs protection from having his body attacked by other people's nightmares. The dream charm will help guide him to the right dream," Peace Keeper explained as did a final check to make sure the ritual had been completed properly. She looked at Adrien, who was determined to help Marinette. She felt obligated to give him a warning. She pulled the covers nice and tight over him. "Listen Adrien, the charm's power will yank your dream body back to your real one if something bad starts to happen. You can't stop or prevent it." Adrien gave her a look that clearly stated he wasn't going to leave the dream world until he saved Marinette.

Not wanting to fight with him she mentally reached out to Nooroo. _"Nooroo, we're almost ready for you. I'm just about to put Adrien to sleep. Are you ready?"_

" _I've gathered up the energy to open a small portal. I'll keep it open as long as I can, but I need you to keep my master distracted so he doesn't notice me using my own power for myself."_

" _Don't worry we have a plan for a major distraction."_

In the loft, Peace Keeper picked up a small bag that Tikki had gotten out earlier. It contained glittering gold sand, a rare magical ingredient. Sleeping sand from the Sandman himself. She had to trade a lot to get this small bag. You never knew when you would need to send angry people to sleep during peace missions. Taking a tiny pinch, she got ready to toss it. "Are you ready Adrien?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. Don't worry about me. I know I can save Marinette, after all we're soulmates." Taking a deep breath he relaxed his body and closed his eyes. The sand was tossed over him as he feel into a deep sleep. The others stood by waiting for Nooroo to come through.

 _Back with Nooroo, he made sure that Hawkmoth was still busy directing Dream Walker. Carefully, he singled out the dream path to Marinette's dream and sent it to his "sister and brother." He could feel them place the path into the charm. Inside his Miraculous, Nooroo glowed brightly imagining the portal opening in the loft. "Pathway to the dream world open up. Allow the dreamers to unite. Keep them together until first light."_

In the loft a small mauve portal formed just beyond the dream catcher. The dream charm lit up covering Adrien's body in a white light. The trio could just make out a tiny white thread passing through the dream catcher and into the portal. Adrien was on his way to the dream world.

* * *

Plagg looked at Adrien, a tiny bit of worry showing on his face. The dream world could be a dangerous place, especially when there was an evil force invading it. Tikki touched her counterparts shoulder, giving him a reassuring look. Blinking the tiny cat brushed her off. "I'm fine, the kid's fine. He's going to be just fine. We need to get this distraction started."

Tikki nodded, she was supercharged after eating two whole boxes of cookies while Plagg scarfed up three huge cheese wheels. With the extra energy to power their magic, they could hold their human form for a longer period with taking as much life force from Peace Keeper. The Kwamii Charms glowed and in seconds the Kwamiis turned into doppelgangers of their chosen. "Remember, our objective is to distract Dreamwalker. Under no circumstance are we to wake her up or injure her."

"Ladybug" nodded. "Our best chance to prevent her from gaining more power and counter whatever nightmare or dream constructs she creates."

"Shouldn't be too hard with the three of us working together, though I'm not going to be taking all the hits out there! I say we contain her quickly," "Chat Noir" suggested.

Nodding, they left the loft and started running towards the Eiffel Tower where Dreamwalker had been spotted. Running and jumping off rooftops on their own was a new experience for Plagg and Tikki. They stumbled a few times, but never gave up. They had just reached the area near the tower when Peace Keeper shouted, "Scatter!"

The trio broke apart as three nightmare beams nearly hit them. "Ladybug" flipped out of the way and started twirling her yo-yo to shield herself from dream dust. "Chat Noir" broke the staff in half and threw them like boomerangs at Dreamwalker, still trapped in the sound blocker net, who dodged them in the air. Her antennas alerted her to an incoming attack only for her to be caught in a smoky cloud.

Beating the smoke away, she locked eyes on the trio. "Nice to see you have come out of hiding. My Master wants the Miraculous and whatever gives you your abilities Peace Keeper. Surrender now," she mouthed at them. The trio shook their heads telling her to come and get them.

Jumping away from the tower, Dreamwalker followed them as the three played the part of the distraction to keep Hawkmoth from realizing their only hope was in the dream world. This had to work or Marinette was doomed.


	8. Heroic Adrien

If Adrien was to describe his experience of entering the dream world, he wasn't sure he could do it with words. To his senses, if felt as if a strong pull of love and joy calling to his dream self. Passing through the portal it felt as if he was charged up by a massive excitement bomb. Then he felt a darkness trying to attack him only to be blocked by a strong sense of loyalty.

What could have been hours or seconds later Adrien's dream body coalesced into a solid form. The teen model took a deep breath and opened his eyes. At the edge of his vision, stood a large Chinese Gate with the characters that spelled out Marinette's name. Leading up to the gate was a beautiful natural path which resembled the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. He had never been to the park before, but Marinette had told him about it a few weeks ago, when the group was mentioning favorite places in Paris.

This little out of the way park, was where his Lady liked to go when she needed to destress from her life. Sometimes her family would have picnics here when they wanted to get away from the bakery. It looked so inviting and there didn't seem to be any dangers. Adrien took a step closer waiting for the park to attack him or send him away. Looking down at his wrist the dream charm was glowing brightly leaving a white aura around him. Glancing behind him, he saw the portal hovering in the air. It didn't look like it was very stable. "Time to get to work."

Running up the path, the plants didn't trying to stop him. He made it to the gate and tried to open the door, but they were locked tightly. The wall was too high to climb and he didn't think he could dig under the gate in this world. "Come on, I need to get inside. Marinette's in trouble. I have to help her!" he said as he pounded on the door again and again.

The gate held strong not allowing Adrien entry. Taking a few deep breaths, he calmed himself down. "I'm at the entrance to her part of the dream world, so I did follow the right path. A gate keeps people out, so I must need a key to get in. The question is where the key is?"

The dream charm started glowing brightly and swaying back and forth. Puzzled, Adrien held the charm up to the gate. It started swaying back and forth faster and faster. Marinette's dream energy zapped out of the charm and filled in the characters. There was a soft click and the doors rolled away. "Thanks Bugaboo, I owe you that and so much more."

Charging ahead, he entered the edges of Marinette's dream world. It was a bit foggy and the sky was pink with white fluffy clouds. Taking a closer look, he realized that the clouds were actually sketches of new designs. Some had been colored in, while others were crumbled up and tossed beyond the gate. "Whoa, she is a great designer. How many ideas does she have?"

A sharp cutting sound filled his ears. Twisting around; he saw a pair of scissors coming at him. Flipping out of the way he continued to run on what he hoped was the path. The sound soon disappeared as did the fog. "Glad that's over. Okay, enough fooling around." He lifted his wrist so he could see the charm. "You're supposed to help and protect me. What's the fastest way to get to where Marinette is?"

The charm swayed back and forth then stopped, the tip of the pyramid pointing to the right. Taking the hint he hurried to the right hoping Marinette was waiting for him. As he ran the dream sky was changing from pink to purple. Flashes of magenta streaked across the sky. These were signs of something dark and dangerous in this place. The teen boy couldn't hold back a shudder as a negative pressure built up all around him.

After a while, Adrien wondered if had been such a good idea to follow the charm. "Where are you leading me to?" he demanded as the charm kept pointing to the right. "The main path is back that way! I need to find Marinette now!"

The charm stopped pointing and he found himself in a small clearing. All the negative pressure fell away and the sky returned to normal. It did have a medieval feel to it with all the dressed up horses, maidens, and knights. Walking around the area he spotted many of the people they knew from their fights or school. That's when he saw Nino, dressed as squire talking to someone, that someone was him! Well at least a dream version of him. His dream self was dressed like a knight, but wore a crown and crest showing he was a prince.

 _"In order to save Marinette, you can not appear as Chat Noir young one. In here you, must bind yourself to a dream version of you. Only then, will you have the ability to get to the heart of her dream and free her from my master's control. Be swift you don't have a lot of time," Nooroo's voice echoed above him._

Adrien stiffened upon hearing the Nooroo's voice. By what he'd been told by the others, he expected to not even sense the Kwamii's presences yet here he was hearing him. "Nooroo? Where are you?"

 _"Still within my Miraculous keeping Hawkmoth's power active. He still doesn't know you're there. If you join with your dream self, the other "extras" in this dream will rally behind you. Do you understand?"_

"Yes I do. Thank you Nooroo." Using his cat like stealth he weaved between the tents and rolled under the kitchen tent before crawling out and taking position near a throne that looked identical to the one Dreamwalker had placed him in before. The sound of footsteps approaching forced him into a crouch. He wasn't sure how to merge with his dream self, but he was sure pouncing on him, might be the best way to go.

"Dream" Adrien had a goofy grin on his face. Wiping some imaginary sweat off his face, the boy came to rest in his throne. Humming to himself he reached inside and pulled out what appeared to be a lock of hair that suspiciously looked like Marinette's. "Oh my beautiful Princess, how dream the day I am once more at your side. How I miss your sweet vanilla and flour smell that comforts me at night. The beauty of your shimmering hair is equal only to your vivacious smile. Oh call for me once more my sweet princess."

There was a sound snapping twigs. "Dream" Adrien leaped off his throne drawing his sword only to be pounced and pinned to the ground. He faintly struggled before he stopped fighting. There was a hiss and snap and Adrien stood up, now dressed in the clothes his dream self was wearing only moments ago. "Glad to know this armor isn't as heavy as it looks. Hmm, I'm more of a foil then broadsword, but I can make do."

"Prince Adrien, Prince Adrien where are you?" "Dream" Nino called out as he came running towards the throne. The blond model started to giggle at how silly his best friend looked dressed in green robes and a mandolin, a real dream life mandolin, hung on his back. "Sire are you alright? What has caused this outbreak of giggles?"

"It's okay Nino, I'm fine really," the model assured him. He reached out to do a fist bump only to freeze midway changing to a good strong shake. With his other hand he started rubbing the back of his neck out of habit. "I do believe it's time we return to my beloved Princess don't you?"

"Dream" Nino agreed with him, but pointed out they had not been called for that night. There was also no sign telling them to appear. The princess had been having the same dream for nights now. "We only appeared early on her request because she believe you were hurt."

"That's why I want to go and see for myself. Gather everyone, we are returning home now!"

* * *

In the real world, Dreamwalker was flying after the trio as they did their best to keep her occupied. They couldn't attack her directly for fear of waking her or causing the akuma to die. There was no way to tell for sure what the situation with Adrien was. All they could do is wait and see if Dreamwalker would vanish from sight.

"You can't evade me forever! My Master will have your Miraculouses and whatever other magical items you have!" Dreamwalker exclaimed as she released more dream dust. At least that's what they assumed she said because it was still gibberish to them. The sound blocking net did leave them with a slight disadvantage on not being able to understand her words, unless they looked at her and read her lips.

"Ladybug" looked around and saw a French flag waving in the night air across the street. Taking a running leap she covered the distance and managed to get the flag. Swinging off the pole she did a roll in the air, catching the dust in the flag, wrapping it up tightly before sticking her landing on the roof she started on. Spotting a dumpster she slid down the building and dropped the bag in there and locked the dumpster.

While she had been doing that "Chat Noir" had been dodging dream and nightmare beams while trying to think of a good pun. He really didn't have the knack for puns, he was more of a sarcastic person. "You have really bad aim Dreamwalker, My Lady could hit a target a mile away with her eyes closed," he taunted her. By the way Dreamwalker growled it was clear she could read his lips courtesy of Hawkmoth.

Hovering in the air, she poured her dream energy into constructing a series of scratching posts and placed them in a row down the street. "Chat Noir" claws were twitching in temptation. He would not give in to this trick. "What's the matter kitty? Don't you want to go sharpen those claws of yours?"

"He doesn't, but I do!" a voice called out from behind. Peace Keeper landed on the first scratching post and dug her gloved hands into the fabric tearing it off it off with her little gripping hooks. She pulled back as the fabric tore off revealed the wood underneath. "Hmm, this is so soft. Sure you don't want to make a bed and take a long nap?"

 _"Get closer to her my dear and find whatever is giving her the ability to mimic Miraculous powers. I don't care how you do it, but I want to know who she is and what her connection is to them."_

Dreamwalker nodded as she landed on the scratching post. Eying her opponent, she threw the first punch faking a hit to the face, but changing her aim at the last second striking just below Peace Keeper's left shoulder blade. PK took the hit in order to grab Dreamwalker's blocking arm and shove her to the side. Both foes struck out with their legs blocking one another. "I don't want to fight you Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm trying to help you!"

"My name is Dreamwalker!" With a leap she tackled Peace Keeper to the ground as they rolled around nearing the edge. A bridge made out of yo-yo string formed as the duo rolled over and onto the next scratching post. Standing up the two continued to engage in hand to hand combat.

"Ladybug" signaled to "Chat Noir" that they should get rid of the other posts before helping Peace Keeper out. The feline blew her a kiss as he scampered across the roof tops. Landing on a balcony he lined up his shot and extended the staff, using it like a pool cue, and it knocked over the first post on his end as crashed into the next one. A well timed strike of a magical yo-yo and the other posts were sent crashing until they all came together and exploded, scattering the dream energy.

Peace Keeper was finding it difficult to hold back as Dreamwalker continued to attack her again and again. Being on constant defense while trying to not land a hit strong enough to wake her was becoming difficult. She needed some distance. Tapping her analyzer pad, it changed slightly becoming a laser beam. Firing the beam on a high setting, she split the post in half, with Dreamwalker on one side and her on the other. "Ladybug" and "Chat Noir" landed next to her. She could feel them starting to get a little fatigued.

Dreamwalker noticed this and the fact that Peace Keeper was touching her neck even though there was nothing there. Using her targeting gaze she saw the outline of something. "Master, she's wearing something around her neck. It's hidden, but I can make out the outline. It looks like a charm necklace."

 _"Charm necklace? Hmm, very intriguing. Nooroo did mention the possibility of the young woman finding magical charms. I need to get a closer look at that charm necklace. Take it from her by any means necessary!"_

"Understood Master. The Miraculouses and charm necklace will be mine very shortly." She watched as the trio started running in the opposite direction. Taking to the sky she went after them determined to get the objects for her Master.

The trio watched as she flew past their hiding spot, an empty café. "Ladybug" started to fret. "I think she might have seen past the glamor on your necklace. If she has then Hawkmoth might know about the Kwamii Charms!"

"We can't let him have them! The second they're removed we would revert to our normal selves and our chosen would be exposed! What is taking Adrien so long?"

"Hush you two. Our objective hasn't changed. We need to keep her distracted, we'll just have to be twice as careful. Adrien won't let us down."

* * *

In the dream world Adrien had never been so grateful that the dream version knew how to ride a horse, because he sure didn't. Sitting upright while the horse was galloping turned out to be harder than it looked. "Hold on Princess, I'm coming," he whispered as the exited the forest and entered the city of Paris.

"Whoa, this wasn't what I was expecting," he said out loud. His horse had vanished and his clothes had changed to biking outfit because he was riding a tandem with Nino along with the rest of his classmates. "This is kind of fun."

"Dream" Nino nodded in agreement. "Yes, this is my favorite way to get around Paris. Isn't romantic? I love it when she dreams about Alya and I joining her and you on a double date riding around the city. Maybe you can ask her once we reach your home."

Seeing his puzzled expression the dream counterpart laughed. "Dude, how can you forget that most nights you two are married and living in your mansion? Are you still mad she didn't bring you back to mansion with her after she left you with us to heal you?"

Before Adrien could respond to that he heard "Dream" Rose screaming as "Dream" Juleka was snatched off their bike by a misty outline of Reflekta and dragged away. Rose was backing away when several akumas swooped down on her and took her into a now purple mist that was surrounding the city keeping him from reaching his mansion.

"Nightmare Mist! Everyone run!" "Dream" Nino shouted as he abandon the bike. "Come on bro, we need to get out of here before that nightmare mist gets us!" He started tugging on Adrien's sleeves, but the blond refused to budge.

"I'm not leaving! Marinette needs my help!" Breaking the counterpart of his best friend's grip he stood firm. He started to walk towards the mist only to be tackled on the ground. "Get off me Nino! I'm not giving up on Marinette!"

"Dream" Nino tried to convince him that it was better if they left. That they were in danger if the Nightmare Mist touched them. They would turn into nightmare creatures and end up causing horrible nightmares that would plague Marinette for weeks. "Marinette will be fine! She just needs to wake up."

"Except she can't wake up right now boyfriend," "Dream Alya" stated as she biked over. The mist was continuing to spread as she ordered the boys to jump on. Adrien got on the other seat as "Dream" Nino held on for dear life. They zoomed off like a rocket trying to avoid their akumatized friends.

They had made it four blocks when Evilstrator popped up in front of them. He created a door and opened it up revealing a pitch black room. "Time for you three to disappear. Adrien undid the straps to the helmet and pitched it at Evilstrator, who instinctively blocked it as his pad was shattered.

Weaving around the villain they took off again, keeping the spreading mist parallel to them. They were getting closer to his mansion when Horrificator, Gamer, and Stoneheart appeared, blocking their path. The tandem skidded out of control and the three friends fell to the cobblestone ground in a heap.

"No one shall pass! By orders of Marinette's business partner!"

He had no time to wonder who that was, as Horrificator spit several purple slime balls, at the trio. Without being Chat Noir, he didn't have the same amount of grace and agility to avoid the slime balls, ending up with his foot partially caught. His dream friends ran to help him as "Dream" Alya pulled him free while "Dream" Nino blasted Mylene's song through his headphones, shrinking her down to size.

"NO ONE HURTS MY MYLENE!" Stoneheart shouted. Drawing back his fist he slammed it into the ground as the trio fell down the incline to the street below. The fall didn't hurt the dream constructs, yet Adrien felt the vague feeling of his arms stinging.

"Dream" Alya saw the scratches on his arm. "I knew you weren't our Adrien, you the real one, well dream body to be exact!"

"For real? You aren't kidding me. That is so cool we need to... swim!" The three of them dove into the river as Gamer shot at them trying to turn them into points to level up. As they dove deeper Dark Cupid started firing from the sky trying to hit them with his hate arrows. "They're heading towards the mansion! Anti-Bug, Vanisher get your butts over there!" Dark Cupid ordered.

"Fine, but they're not going to make it past the Nightmare Mist without being turned into one as well," Anti-bug muttered to herself. Nodding to her left, the wavy outline of Vanisher followed her as they pushed deeper into the Nightmare Mist covered city.

Meanwhile the trio was taking the long route through the sewer system to get to the storm drain next to his mansion. As they crawled through the tunnels Adrien found himself explaining his mission to his dream friends. "To conclude if I don't get into that mansion and find and defeat the akuma, Marinette could die within a matter of hours."

"Knew there had to be some reason girl had been fixated on the same dream these past few nights. No way would she continue to dream about being the Agreste Line top designer, without a fabulous vacation," "Dream" Alya commented in triumph. "This has to be an epic romance for you to come here directly."

"Dude, you do know you can die or get stuck in here right?"

"Doesn't matter to me, Marinette is worth it." He cocked his head and frowned. "Do you hear that sound? It almost sounds like…rollerblades!"

An evil laugh filled the air as sparks danced across the pipe. "Timebreaker is going to break you!" Timebreaker shouted in glee as she sped up the sides, the ceiling, and the bottom of the pipe gaining speed. "This is as far as you go!"

Adrien was ready to attack when "Dream" Nino blocked him taking the touch. Instead of disappearing he was slowly turning back into the Bubbler. He shoved himself on top of Timebreaker. "Alya, get him to the mansion no matter what! If Marinette dies then it's all over for us!"

Dream Alya nodded as she grabbed the real boy's arm and started running through the twisting tunnels. The Bubbler's shouting as he continued to fight back to give them time to escape.

"Listen up pretty boy, Anti-Bug and Vanisher will most likely be waiting for us at your mansion. I'm going to exit first and draw their attention. The Nightmare Mist will be strong so I'll turn into Lady Wifi. I'm going to pause the mist long enough for you to get inside, but hurry, I don't know how long I can hold off the effects of the Nightmare Mist."

Upon exiting the sewers, it happened exactly as "Dream" Alya predicted. While she attacked Anti-Bug Vanisher tried to get a hold of Adrien. He could feel the mist swirling as started climbing the gates to his home. He got stuck in the fence and he swore he could feel Vanisher reach out for his foot.

"Time to pause you!" Lady WiFi shouted slinging pause buttons everywhere. The Nightmare Mist was still changing her as she fought against. "Get inside before I lose control!" Nodding gratefully, he freed his foot and finished his climb. Adrien landed on the ground and got inside seconds before the Nightmare Mist could touch him.

Panting for a few minutes, he wiped the sweat off his dream body. "Okay, I'm inside the main dream. Time to find Marinette and help her. Please don't let me be late," he whispered as he started walking through the mansion, keeping his eyes out for anything.

* * *

In the real world, Hawkmoth was continuing to order Dreamwalker in how to attack. She was using all her creative talents to get closer and closer to the heroes. The silly sound blocker net might have made it impossible to hear what the trio was up to her. Still, Dreamwalker's antenna hair made up for that in helping her keep track of them.

Dreamwalker fired a series of nightmare beams, her deadly butterfly gaze locked onto her targets. The trio of heroes dodged about, slipping under air units or deflecting the beams using reflective surfaces. Smirking Dreamwalker fired a dream beam at a water tower.

"I've always found water so calming. Let's see if you do too." The tower transformed into a slide. The trio was yanked into the water as they took twists and turns, rolling over as the wet slippery ride carried them away.

 _"Excellent idea my dear. They'll be off balance and you can grab the Miraculouses and charm necklace easily!"_

Hawkmoth smile was growing by the second. Soon, soon, he have his heart desire. The power of the Miraculous combined with whatever charms that Peace Keeper had would soon belong to him. At last the one he lost would return to him! He was so excited, he almost missed Dreamwalker clutching her ears as her body shook and she fell from the sky.

His perfect Akuma couldn't flip over and appeared to be totally confused. She reached to grab anything to slow her down and Chat Noir's staff appeared lodging tightly into an apartment exterior. She snagged it and dangled there for a seconds before losing her grip. A bungee cord wrapped itself around Dreamwalker, holding her in the air before releasing her into a stringed net.

"Marinette please stop this," "Ladybug" pleaded as she desperately pleaded. "Your ear infection is just getting worse, why do you think you just fell from the sky?"

"She can't hear you remember?" "Chat Noir" hissed at his partner.

"Both of you calm down, we need to get her contained!"

When Hawkmoth heard that he let out a growl that Dreamwalker echoed. Without a command, she started collecting massive amounts of dream energy from her prey. Climbing to the top of the net she unleashed her nightmare gaze as over two dozen people fell asleep experiencing nightmares as her power grew.

"I won't fall for your tricks anymore!" The trio retreated as she went on the attack again. They would have to find some other place to trap her until Adrien could succeed in his task.

Hawkmoth was tapping his cane as he reviewed what happen a few seconds ago. Dreamwalker had never let pain get to her before, her human side Marinette was sick, but that shouldn't affect her when she was Dreamwalker. Could Nooroo have been right?

A sharp pain from his brain caused him to stumble. The pain continued and he soon lost his grip on the cane falling over. What was going on? Opening up his telepathy he felt something, another presence inside Dreamwalker's sleeping mind. Someone was trying to break his control over her!

Giving Dreamwalker commands to do whatever she needed to do to complete her objective he let himself relax a little as he sent his own dream body into Marinette's dream world determined to find out what was going on. Emerging inside the dream as Gabriel Agreste once more, he headed off in the mansion looking for anything unusual. First stop, checking on his prize.

* * *

Adrien had stopped to look at his adult self in the mirror. He had grown taller, with broader shoulders and still had a great figure. He was dressed casual business attire. "Well, this isn't as bad as the bike outfit I was wearing a little while ago."

"Daddy, daddy, and daddy!" a young voice called out before something small rammed into him nearly tipping him over. Looking down he saw a toddler attached to his legs. He looked really cute and the boy was looking at him with absolute adoration. "Daddy, I lost Hammy again! I searched everywhere, but I still can't find my hamster."

Adrien froze upon hearing himself called daddy, but then he smiled. It was a nice feeling to be the father for a change. Scooping up they boy, Hugo, his dream self supplied the information he needed, Adrien ruffled the child's hair. "Are you sure you looked everywhere Hugo? Hammy couldn't have gotten very far in his hamster ball."

The child insisted he looked everywhere. He then started accusing his sister Emma's cat, Belle Nuit Noire, of eating his pet. Then he suggested that Louise's dog, Cheng, of tormenting his pet to death. A smile appeared on Adrien's face as he continued to assure his son that his hamster was fine.

The pitter patter of steps in the kitchen told him where to go look for the other kids. Pushing open the door, his heart soared as he saw a beautiful daughter and another son sneaking treats from the counter top as the missing hamster rolled around keeping an eye out. "Emma, Louis, you know that you can't have sweets until later."

The two kids groaned as Hugo retrieved his beloved pet. Both looked at him grumbling. "It's not fair, we haven't had any fresh sweets in days! Mama too busy with that joint project of hers to come out of her studio," Louise whined pitifully. That caught Adrien's attention.

"What do you mean your mom's been in her studio all this time? What joint project are you talking about?"

Emma gave him a quizzical look. "Don't you remember Daddy? When Grandpere came over and gave Mama her a new hair piece, the one that looked like a butterfly? He said that he had a project for the two of them to work on."

Adrien's eyes widen in horror, Hawkmoth's akuma must have let him into his beloved's dreams and somehow anchored himself to the dream version of his father. He got even more worried when Hugo mentioned that Grandpere would yell and chase them away from the studio anytime they got to close or affectionate.

"You three stay here with your pets and don't move. I'm going to talk with my father and see if Mama can take a break. I'll be back soon." Gathering up his courage, the teen model left the kitchen in hopes of finding his "wife's" studio.

Hawkmoth walked around in the studio studying his victim's creations. Beautiful jewelry made from the sound machine had been painted and decorated with real jewels. A person's face was trapped in the jewels indicating a victim. "Remarkable, very unique. Let's check your accessories shall we?"

Three purses that could be inverted to show a different look along with a personalize monogram on each had been placed next to a hat collection that was a mix of old time with modern elements in different sizes. There was a pair of shoes that appeared to me a mix of a flat with a wedge. Each item displayed a victim and what nightmare they were having.

Sitting at her sewing machine Marinette turned to look at Hawkmoth. "I've completed all the clothes you needed and I have an inspiration for some new menswear items." Her black covered eyes meeting his masked ones. "Do you think I can see my husband and kids now?"

Hawkmoth paused for a minute. He had come straight to the studio to make sure Marinette was still hard at work creating things and under his control. Checking the rest of the house would be much easier if he was with her and she noticed something off about her dream. "Very well my dear. Let's visit the rest of the family."

* * *

Before they could reach the door, it opened and an angry Adrien shoved Hawkmoth away from Marinette before throwing several sewing needles at him. "I won't let you continue your sick game Hawkmoth." Adrien looked around for a weapon, anything he could use to fight. Strangely, there was a foil hanging on the wall. He grabbed it and got into position.

Hawkmoth's growled as he stood up keeping his cane next to his side. "Why are you acting like this Adrien? Do you truly believe that I'm Hawkmoth? That is ridiculous." Marinette had a worried expression on her face as she got closer to the two men.

"Adrien stop this at once! I know I've been busy the last week or so, but there's no reason for you to be attacking your father!" Marinette yelled. She was totally unprepared for Adrien to grab her wrist and drag her behind him as he inched back towards the studio door.

"He's not my father, he's Hawkmoth! Marinette, you're dreaming! I need you to give me your hair piece now!" The poor designer looked confused wondering what had gotten into her Adrien.

Hawkmoth chuckled and stepped out of "Dream" Mr. Agreste letting the construct vanish into thin air as he appeared in all his glory. Twirling his cane around him, he did a perfect Avant thrust into a Croisé téte that Adrien blocked and pushed back surprising Hawkmoth. This dream version of the Agreste boy had the same reflexes as the real one.

Adrien edged forward ready to make his first move. Without warning he went on the attack using a basic thrust that Hawkmoth blocked only for Adrien to perform a simple disengage. He jumped backwards as Hawkmoth attempted to do an Enlevé to catch the teen off balance only for him to use a counter attack to block the cane tip.

Marinette was scared by the fighting unable to process what was happening. She had run into the back room, to stay out of the way as the two fought. She winced as her fabric caddy was destroyed and one of her specialized sewing machines was knocked over. "Can't these two settle their differences like reasonable people?"

Something twinkling caught her attention. A weird charm bracelet on one of Adrien's wrists. She didn't remember designing that for him. At that moment both of them were several feet apart looking their opponent over trying to figure out how to land a hit on one another. Taking the chance she spoke. "Adrien, why are you wearing that strange bracelet? I don't remember giving it to you."

Hawkmoth eyes locked onto the bracelet. The "Dream" version of Adrien didn't wear that. The charm looked very familiar he thought. He remembered seeing it in a book he read during his initial research into his more powerful akumas. He just couldn't pinpoint it. "Yes, what is that item on your wrist dear Adrien?"

The model narrowed his eyes at being called dear before he responded with confidence. "Unlike you, I don't force my way inside other people's dreams to control them! After my rescue, Peace Keeper mentioned she knew a way to get into the dream world and destroy your akuma before it kills Marinette! So I volunteered to wear the dream charm to get here. After all, I was the only one the heroes knew for certain was in this dream!" His response caused both Hawkmoth and Marinette to gasp at his claim.

* * *

Meanwhile with Nooroo, he could feel his power fading as he tried to keep dream portal open. In a matter of minutes, Hawkmoth could return from the dream world to demanded answers. If he learned what he had done then the Kwamii knew his life would be all but over. He would die and his Miraculous would become nothing but a relic eventually.

 _"It's all over, there's nothing else I can do. Paris will fall because I wasn't strong enough to stop my master's from using my powers of evil," he cried._

His emotional link with the flutter alerted them to their friend's trouble. No, they could not and would not lose their friend! In a united attack they took out the last two akumas. Their dark energy was released in the air as each butterfly passed by it, they united goal helping turn the energy from dark to light. Flapping their little wings, the energy passed through the Miraculous to Nooroo himself.

The little Kwamii had no idea what was going on as the light energy raised his levels back to normal. In his mind, he felt the flutter emotion,s knowing they were happy to save him.

 _"Thank you my friends. I owe you my life and I think I know a way to keep our master from creating anymore super akumas or using my powers in the dream world. I will need everyone to help keep me alive after this. Understood."_

 _The flutter group mind respond in yes. They would work to keep him alive even if it meant sacrificing their lives for their friend._ In the real world they all swarmed over Hawkmoth covering him from head to toe. Concentrating, they all began sending a bit of their life energy to their friend and leader.

 _Inside his Miraculous, Nooroo could feel his full strength returning. At the same time, he felt his Master trying to regain some consciousness in the real world. Knowing there was no time to waste started to gather his power in one place forming a sphere of purple energy. All his powers over dreams, some of his creativity and champion making abilities, and finally some of his life force._

 _"Kwamii Charm of me, accept this power and hold it safe, until I can claim it again. I give my trust to the Great Guardian and his apprentice Peace Keeper, to use my charm in hopes to free me one day." With a flick of his hand the sphere was gone._

The tiny sphere of glowing energy exited out of the Miraculous and sailed through the window opening. It zigzagged all over the city as it homed in on Nooroo's charm. Finding the location, it phased through the walls of Master Fu's home.

Master Fu and Wayzz had been staring out the window, hoping and praying that the Peace Keeper and Chat Noir could save Ladybug when the mauve glowing sphere blinded them. Shielding themselves from its glow they could faintly make out the sphere merging with Nooroo's charm as it started to glow with life. Seconds later the charm came off the box on its own and disappeared into thin air.

"What just happened Wayzz? I've never seen anything like this before!"

"It would seem my "brother" has taken a huge gamble to give us a chance to win this fight. I hope it pays off."

* * *

With Paris's trio of heroes, Peace Keeper had taken the lead on the fighting as "Ladybug" and "Chat Noir" took the chance to duck out of sight. They're energy levels had nearly been depleted. They couldn't hold human shape any longer. In a flash of pink and green they returned to their normal Kwamii forms and fell to the ground exhausted.

"We…have…to…refuel." Tikki managed to squeak out. "Peace Keeper…needs are help."

"Where are we…cough…going to find…cough…our food source? We're too weak…cough…cough… to move. Peace cough…cough… energy has been drained by us. I don't know how she's standing at this point." Plagg muttered as he tried to get up to float only for his head to hit the pavement again.

"Marinette and Adrien need us! Hawkmoth must remain distracted if we're to have any chance of success."

"It may already be too late, listen."

Dreamwalker flapped her wings as hard as she could sending a whirlwind of dream dust caught Peace Keeper. She was bashed around the whirlwind, the dust trying to touch her bare skin or get into her mouth. Holding her breath, the UN agent pulled out an oxygen mask covering her mouth and nose. Tapping her boots on the ground, she reversed the magnetic polarity and was repelled into the sky and out of danger. Gaining enough altitude she flipped forward, grabbed a lamppost and swung back the ground.

"Dreamwalker stop this! You're going to push yourself to hard!" Peace Keeper pleaded. Her filters and scanners could see parts of her brain under stress and the infected fluid moving its way towards the inner ear. This was not needed to stop that akuma quickly.

Dreamwalker locked her butterfly gaze on Peace Keeper and hurled nightmare beams at her. The heroine tried to move, but couldn't as an Iron Maiden encased her. The spikes inside started to grow getting closer to puncturing her organs despite her suit's reinforcement. "Please, I need help. All I want to do is help my friends."

Dreamwalker came in close to figure out why no blood had been shed when an alluring purple light, similar to a shooting star, came blazing towards the Iron Maiden and went right through it. The object shone brightly before dissolving. Squinting her eyes Dreamwalker watched in disbelief, her eyes transmitting the image into her dream pausing the fight.

Peace Keeper had been wrapped up in a mauve chrysalis of light. A charm in the shape of Nooroo rested near her neck. Nooroo's message was being said over and over again in the Kwamii tongue. Tikki and Plagg felt their energy levels renewed as the floated out their hiding spot to watch the show.

The chrysalis started to crack open as several butterflies emerged. Two of them heading to towards the hidden Kwamiis. Nooroo's magic swirled around them as they changed back into their holders. They didn't feel weak or need life force energy to survive in this form now.

Peace Keeper emerged from the chrysalis looking like a pretty female version of Hawkmoth, her eyes glowing. The Kwamii Charm hooked itself to the necklace glittering brightly. Hawkmoth, Adrien and Dreamwalker couldn't stop staring as the Great Guardian's Apprentice took in her new form.

As fast the form appeared it disappeared, leaving a pack on her back and new filters in her masks as the tips changed to purple. A sudden craving for yogurt hit her before it disappeared. Peace Keeper had never felt this energized before. This was not a tenth of Nooroo's power, it was half of it! Already it was affecting her link with the other Kwamiis and the Charms. This was incredible.

"What is going on? My Master demands an explanation!" Even with the sound blocking net, Peace Keeper could hear her words clearly. "Ladybug" and "Chat Noir" reappeared by her side giving her the confidence she needed to something bold.

"You asked before who I am, why I fight with the Miraculous users, and my source of power. If your demanding an explanation, then it means Hawkmoth must be scared!" She laughed at Dreamwalker knowing Hawkmoth could see and hear her through his link. "I am the Great Guardian's Apprentice! I fight to help keep the Miraculous users, their Kwamiis, and the world safe. These Kwamii Charms give me access to a tenth of a Kwamii's power once they trust me."

She loved the look on Dreamwalker's face knowing it was really Hawkmoth scared and frighten expression. How must it feel to find out your Kwamii managed to keep a huge secret from you. Not only that, grant someone else part of his power? "With these powers and my training, I will help the heroes defeat you and free Nooroo from your evil grasp!'

Getting into her stance she held out her rope dart as the disguised Kwamiis started spinning their weapons. Dreamwalker took a step back as inside her dreams, Adrien pinned Hawkmoth to the wall. The final battle was about to commence!


	9. Freedom

**We have reached the end of the second part of the first season trilogy. Be on the look out for the third part: Kitsune Thief, coming soon.**

* * *

It was a two way battle showdown. In the real world, Peace Keeper and the disguised Kwamiis were challenging Dreamwalker in order to contain her. While in the dream world, Adrien fought to save his beloved. While this was going on, the real Marinette had hidden herself deep in her dream, unsure what to do next.

Dreamwalker did a flying kick, knocking back "Ladybug". She twisted around sending a kick towards "Chat Noir" who caught her foot and forcefully twisted it around sending her sprawling to the ground only for her to push off with her fingertips as she launched in the air, her gazed locked on as she fired a nightmare beam at the group. Peace Keeper slid into place calling on the powers of Wayzz, "Shell Guard!" as the giant protective shield held up to the attack. This time it was stronger than when she used it against Emperor.

The second it dropped, Dreamwalker powered up by sucking more dream energy out of her recent victims and leaving a screaming echo in her wake. This time when she fired the nightmare beams, they transformed in midair turning into slimy monsters that open their mouths to devour her. Connecting with Nooroo's Kwamii Charm, Peace Keeper felt energized as she opened up a portal to the dream world, sending the nightmare creatures away.

Dreamwalker changed tactics this time firing dream energy beams at Peace Keeper, who activated her new pack and surprise! It turned out to be a jetpack that included a shielding coat so her body didn't get burned by the fuel propulsion. Dreamwalker flew after her as they raced across the city heading back in the direction of the school. "Ladybug" and "Chat Noir" followed behind ready to give an assist.

"They're heading back to the school, we should get ahead of them and go to the bakery," "Ladybug" yelled to her partner. She saw his confused expression so she continued to explain. "We need a way to slow her down and capture her without hurting her. There is tons of left over dough from making all the treats for the fair. If we can weigh her down…"

"Then she'll fall to the ground without getting hurt and be stuck in the goop! There's tons of old junk at Adrien's house that could work as a cage without killing her!"

"Then go get something and I'll prepare the dough!" "Chat Noir" nodded as he eagerly jumped and vaulted taking a slight detour to get something from the mansion. While this was going on "Ladybug" contacted Peace Keeper to let her know what the plan was.

* * *

Peace Keeper received the plan and acknowledged it was a good one. Glancing over her shoulders, Dreamwalker was speeding up to overtake her. Her dream dust covered wings kept getting brighter, a sure indicator that she was ready to create a storm of dream dust again, this time wide spread. Using the filters in her mask she looked around to see if she could find something that could harmlessly take the dust away. Her filters spotted something and ran a simulation right before her eyes. It was perfect. "Na na you can't catch me! I'm faster than you!"

"I won't fall for childish tricks!" Increasing her speed she caught up to her foe and tried to force her from the sky. Her foe did the same thing as they fought back and force in the sky, getting a bit lower with each hit. Suddenly it was a catfight in the air as they did barrel rolls. The sleepwalking girl made a grab for the charm necklace only to be head butted.

Peace Keeper rotated until she was on top. Looking directly in the transformed eyes of her friend, her eye filters flashed brightly just as Dreamwalker locked eyes her. Seconds before the dream dust was released she pushed off from Dreamwalker's body and deactivated her pack as she plummeted. "I have to time this just right. Not yet, not yet, now!" Doing two midair front flips, she got out of range, as the dust entered into an old substation that absorbed the dust and turned it into harmless electricity. Peace Keeper landed on the side of a structure using her suit's ability to cling to the side.

"Where are you two? She's getting madder, but she hasn't lost focus on me!"

"Don't worry, we're in position. Just get her to pass by the bakery!"

"I'm waiting at the school to drop this thing over her!"

Climbing to the top of a roof, she started running at full speed towards the bakery. They would only have one chance at this and she hoped the Kwamiis knew what they were doing. Pushing herself to her limits she made it to Marinette's balcony, pulled a small tube from her belt and opened it up. A very sweet odor of a rare flower filled the air.

Dreamwalker pigtails antenna curled out as she picked up the scent of the sweet flower passed by. It triggered something inside her, reminding her of a place she couldn't quite remember. Heading in the direction of the bakery, the memory continued to tug at her.

As the bakery came into a view she saw that her target was waiting for her. Getting in closer she didn't her the twang of a catapult launching and got covered in a huge dough ball. The trajectory took her towards the school landing in the courtyard. Trying to get out of the dough someone slide a tight large vase with, with the bottom broken around her, keeping her hands from being used. "Chat Noir" gave her a grin. As the other two came into a landing they hoped that she was contained for good this time.

* * *

While this was going on Hawkmoth was being kept busy by Adrien. Part of his consciousness had returned to his body, while most remained in the dream to prevent the model from destroying his akuma. So far, the boy was keeping him on his toes as he waited for a slip up to take advantage of.

"So the rumors about Gabriel Agreste's son are true," Hawkmoth taunted as he pushed Adrien up against the pattern fabric printer. Cane met blade as he tried to get the boy to submit. "They say you're just about perfect at everything you do." The cane was pressing the blade further back causing Adrien to feel the pressure of the printer up against his back.

"I can assure you those rumors are mostly true!" Adrien stated shoving the man off him. Hitting a button on the printer it started to spit out preprogramed patterns flew out and started wrapping themselves around Hawkmoth's body. The villain shoved them off him and whacked his cane against a shelving unit containing hundreds of different beads on the floor. The beads followed the cane movements as Hawkmoth attacked in a serious of quick attacks.

Adrien was pelted by the beads his dream body taking several hits. The charm on his bracelet glow started to dim a bit and his body flickered for a second. "What in the world?" As Adrien blocked another attack before lunging low then using the tip to direct the cane point in a different direction, he took a chance to get some distance.

"What's the matter boy? Didn't Peace Keeper warn you that coming into the dream world is dangerous? All I need to do is push you hard enough that the dream charm realizes it needs to pull you back to your real body," Hawkmoth declared, his blue eyes blazing with triumph. "An ordinary teenager, no matter how perfect he think he is, is no match for me. Better retreat before you're lost. Marinette belongs to me."

"Marinette doesn't belong to anyone, especially not you!" Righteous fury filled his body as he started to advance and counter everything the Miraculous villain threw at him. For the first time in Adrien's life, he let himself let loose, showing everyone his true feelings without hiding behind his mask or being Chat Noir. This sudden burst of emotion and adrenaline took Hawkmoth by surprise.

Hawkmoth did an Exterieur lunge that was blocked by a parry. The man smirked as he switched hands leaving the boy unbalanced as he went for a Croisé bas. Somehow Adrien managed to get his foil down to perform a circle parry. He straightened up and jumped on top of the table used to make shoes. Marinette called out warning, but neither Adrien nor Hawkmoth heard her, as they started to demolish the table and moving through the rest of the studio destroying bits and pieces of it.

Marinette was watching in horror as her beautiful and precious studio was destroyed piece by piece. All her creations that she had spent so much time on since Gabriel had asked for her help in the joint venture lay scattered on the ground, some damaged and others broken. Tears started to fall from her face. "No, no. Stop please! I worked so hard on all of these! You can't destroy them!" she shouted, leaving her hiding spot and heading into the middle of the fight.

Adrien sensed her coming. He dropped his foil and was about to tackle her when Hawkmoth performed a very fast and devastating Grenouille attack, hitting him with knuckles of one hand then shoving the cane under his opponent's extend arm striking high horizontally from armpit to lower chest before pushing him to the ground. He fell on top of Marinette, hitting the floor hard, his dream body flickering rapidly as his dream charm started swinging back and forth.

Marinette ended up striking her head against one of her sewing tables, leaving a small crack in her hair ornament. A little bit of black and purple smoke leaked out and started turning the dream into a nightmare. The young designer cried out in pain as the dream world started to shake and crumble all around them. Clutching her head Marinette rolled around the studio screaming as blood started to seep out of her ears and her body growing pale. Her breathing becoming erratic.

"What's happening?" Adrien cried out. His dream body was starting to flicker even more as the dream charm started sparking. He could feel the dream energy trying to send him back. "No! Not yet! Marinette please hold on Princess!"

"Idiot! You have no idea what you've done!" Hawkmoth snapped at the boy. Looking at the world around him, he hopped off the table to avoid being crushed by the falling ceiling. Rolling over towards Marinette, he shoved Adrien to the side and looked at the hair ornament cursing loudly. He had to fix this fast or they both would be stuck/die in the dream world.

* * *

In the real world, the same thing was happening to Dreamwalker. She had been contained and suddenly started to thrash around breaking free of her confinement. Blood and smoke poured out of her body as she cried out. The disguised Kwamiis looked at her alarmed as Peace Keeper frantically ran a scan over the transformed girl's body. None of the three noticed the crowd of people who hadn't been put to sleep earlier watching and listening to them.

Alya looked at her best friend before using her camera to zoom in on the trio. This time she would have proof of a third hero's presence. She bit her lip as she listen to what the new one, Peace Keeper, was saying.

"Something went seriously wrong in the dream world! The akuma must have been partially damaged, because now her brainwaves are indicating she's struggling to wake up while at the same time remain asleep. It's causing a meltdown in her brain! If the akuma fully dies in her brain before Adrien releases it…"

"No! We can't let that happen! She's needs to go back to her sleepwalking state now!" "Ladybug" yelled as she gave her partner and friend a serious look. Since Tikki and Plagg had been disguised by Nooroo's power, they couldn't access theirs without a huge backlash. They could go through the motions, but it would be Peace Keeper activating the power.

Tikki's Kwamii Charm started to heat up as Peace Keeper used it to help her perform Lucky Charm. An IPod and microphone fell into "Ladybug's" hands. She didn't know what to do with them for a few seconds, then it came to Peace Keeper in a flash.

"Ladybug, plug that thing in and get ready to sing a lullaby version of the song, Chat Noir use Cataclysm to destroy the sound blocker net. Don't worry about me, I'm going to be a bit busy."

"Chat Noir" via PK, summoned his power, the ancient spell of destruction wrapped around his fingers. Running at full speed he slid across the ground and touched the source of the net, destroying it. Once it was off, Dreamwalker could finally hear properly again.

"Ladybug" had plugged in the IPod as the music of the song, "Try Everything," by Shakira started to play. Thankfully there was still a karaoke screen working so she could sing the lyrics. Making sure the music was loud enough to hear, but not enough to wake a person up, she started to turn the pop song into a lullaby.

* * *

 _"Oh oh oh oh. Oh oh oh oh. Oh oh oh oh. Oh oh oh oh._

 _I messed up tonight. I lost another fight, I still mess up but I'll just start again. I keep falling down, I keep on hitting the ground. I always get up now to see what's next. Birds don't just fly. They fall down and get up. Nobody learns without getting it wrong._

 _I won't give up, no, I won't give in. Til I reach the end and then I'll start again. No, I won't leave I wanna try everything, I wanna try even though I could fail. I won't give up, no, I won't give in. Till I reach the end and then I'll start again. No, I won't leave, I wanna try everything, I wanna to try even though I could fail._

 _Oh oh oh oh. Try everything. Oh oh oh oh. Try everything. Oh oh oh oh.  
Try everything. Oh oh oh oh._

 _Look how far you've come. You've filled your heart with love. Baby, you've done enough, take a deep breath. Don't beat yourself up, don't need to run so fast.  
Sometimes we come last but we did our best._

 _I won't give up, no, I won't give in. Til I reach the end and then I'll start again. No, I won't leave I wanna try everything, I wanna try even though I could fail. I won't give up, no, I won't give in. Till I reach the end and then I'll start again. No, I won't leave, I wanna try everything, I wanna to try even though I could fail._

 _I'll keep on making those new mistakes. I'll keep on making them every day.  
Those new mistakes._

 _Oh oh oh oh. Try everything. Oh oh oh oh. Try everything. Oh oh oh oh.  
Try everything. Oh oh oh oh._

 _Try everything…"_

* * *

The song seemed to do the trick. Dreamwalker's stats returned to normal. The shaking, bleeding, and smoke stopped. In the dream world, the studio restored itself to normal as the akuma hair piece fixed itself and fell out of Marinette's hair on the ground.

Adrien snatched the piece up before Hawkmoth could take it. With his free hand, he placed it in Marinette's hand and started heading for the door. Hawkmoth blocked their route taking a firm stance preventing them from getting to the door. "Where do you think you're going boy?"

Adrien's green eyes narrowed as his hair started to raise up. He puffed himself and a growl came from his throat. He was unconsciously drawing on his cat like tendencies to threaten the man before him. "Get out of our way, or I'll smash this hair piece to dust."

"What do you think that will accomplish? Even if you release my akuma, there is no way for you to cleanse it inside a dream, what do you intend to do now Mr. Agreste?"

"I can take the akuma out of here with me. Ladybug can then cleanse it and Marinette will be healed!"

Hawkmoth laughed and tapped his cane in amusement. Adrien Agreste was not a disappointing opponent. "You amuse me, the akuma has been attached to the dream world since the beginning. It's a much as part of this world as this studio is. You can't remove it from the dream!"

The teen scoffed, feeling that Hawkmoth was lying. Tossing the piece on the ground, he started to put pressure on it, ready to destroy it completely. He gave Marinette a reassuring look, telling her he knew what was best. Then he did a double take for Marinette's eyes had changed from black to blue.

Marinette had partially waken up, not from her dream, but enough that she was lucid in what was going on in her dreams. Her eyes darted about taking in what was going around. Hawkmoth's presence terrified her. A prickling sensation coming off of Adrien made her realize that he was really here, in her dream world. "My Prince, you really are hot stuff. I'm flattered you came to save me Adrien, but I need you to go now," she informed him. Moving his body to the side she gently picked up the hairpiece and held it in her hands.

Clutching it tightly, Marinette stared at Hawkmoth and Adrien. Her lucidness was starting to fade so had to make her choice now. Tilting the boy of her dreams head towards her, she gave him a long, soft kiss. A warmth spread between them as their love for one another continued to grow until it burst from their bodies changing the studio around them into a wedding arch and them dressed up for the occasion.

Breaking the kiss, they both came up for air as they looked at the change of scenery. Hawkmoth was sitting in a pew forcefully head down. Adrien looked so happy knowing that true love can break any spell. All Marinette had to do was purge herself of the akuma and this would be over.

"I'm sorry Adrien for this. Please tell everyone I love them," she whispered before using her free hand to tap the dream charm and send Adrien back through the portal and to his real body. Snapping her fingers Hawkmoth was released as the world returned to her studio.

Leaning on his cane, he was surprised when Marinette put the hair piece back in her hair and let her eyes go black again. "I'm yours to command again Master. I will serve you as long as I live. My only request is you leave my friends and family alone."

Hawkmoth of course agreed as he felt the connection growing stronger than before. Such loyalty and selflessness in one so young was uncommon. She reminded him greatly of the person he was hoping to bring back using the Miraculouses. "My dear Marinette, you made the right choice."

* * *

With Adrien, his dream body exited out of the portal in the loft just as it closed. Passing through the dream catcher, he merged with his real body and gasped. "Marinette no! How could she do that?" Scrambling out of the bed he fell as his sprained ankle flared up. "Got to get to the school."

A dream portal opened up underneath him only to teleport him to the school's nurse's office. Now wasting a minute, he got to work on getting the necessary supplies to get him on his feet and out to the courtyard.

What had seemed like minutes to Adrien had only been thirty seconds in the real world. Dreamwalker was now standing tall. Her wings full of dream dust and her hands charged with dream and nightmare beams, her gaze getting brighter. "You're plan has failed. The Agreste boy has been returned to the real world and I have chosen to remain by my Master's side until death. You've used your powers and will transform back, unable to cleanse me. Give me the Miraculous and your Charms now."

While everyone else froze, Peace Keeper was going over every option in her mind. They had exhausted everything at their disposal and even Adrien had managed to hold on to the akuma long enough to bring it back to the real world to be dealt with. She couldn't let Dreamwalker escape or thousands would die. According to her sensors, Dreamwalker's mind would soon suffer irreversible brain damage, leading to her death.

Marinette knows we're out of options and is going to take herself out of the equation and try to drag Hawkmoth with her if possible. As long as the Miraculous remained safe, her life didn't matter. She wants me to kill her Peace Keeper thought. Her hand move towards a side pocket. Inside it contained a quick kill poison that would accomplish the deed. All those awake watched with anticipation, wondering what the heroes were going to next. Thanks to her new power the emotions from everyone screamed loudly in her mind.

Hope, anger, love and calmness. Despair and understanding. Fear and confidence. Her own emotions mixed with them as she reminded herself that she swore to be a good friend. There was still one option left that she hadn't tried.

Snatching a folder from a different pocket she locked eyes on Dreamwalker's. A mauve butterfly light surrounded Peace Keeper's face as Hawkmoth's outline appeared in front of his perfect Akuma's eyes. Channeling all her power she bombarded Hawkmoth with her telepathy fighting mind to mind.

He wanted to hide once more, not get his hands dirty, but this time, he would. Both marks glowed brightly as a beam connected them together. Nooroo's Kwamii Charm lit up bright as the others sparked to life, their combined power allowing something that had never happened before. Broadcast a real time telepathic conversation for all to hear. Everyone was shocked when they heard Hawkmoth cursing as he figured out what she had done.

* * *

"What do you hope to accomplish by letting the world know what we're saying Peace Keeper?" His voice was coming from all around them and Dreamwalker's mouthed his words along with him, as if she was his spokes piece. "Nothing will stop me from getting the Miraculous and your precious Charms. Give them to me now!" He yelled as Dreamwalker stalked towards the trio.

Ignoring him, Peace Keeper held the folder up for him to see. "Do you know what this is? It's a criminal profile created by renowned profiler Cadence Delong. If you don't who she is, well she worked on poisoned medication and Unabomber cases in the States. As a successful profiler she was more than willing to create a profile about _you."_

Dreamwalker paused as Hawkmoth, back in his lair paused, carefully thinking over his words. He chuckled and laughed. He even clapped his hands. At the school no one said anything. "Do you expect me to believe that an investigating tool, junk science, can tell you anything about me?"

Opening the folder, PK handed one page to "Ladybug" and another to "Chat Noir." Spotting Adrien, now wearing a proper bandage and some crutches, hobbled over to her and took another page. The remainder of the profile stayed with her.

"Ladybug" read out loud part of her page. "Subject Hawkmoth: French nationality. Caucasian, with blue eyes and upper class accent. Is between the ages mid-thirties too early fifties. Height about 5'7 to 6'0 feet tall according to victims." Her eyes widen a bit as she saw Dreamwalker shift a bit upon hearing those words.

"Chat Noir" let out a trademark giggle before reading a section. "Suspect Hawkmoth is highly intelligent, well educated, and creative. Hawkmoth nature suggests a powerful, controlling, stern personality."

"Subject has a job that allows free time for activities, but still lets him be in control. Suggested ties to fashion industry to express creativity and earn fame. Has shown a conflicted patriotism towards Paris and France as a whole," Adrien spoke up.

Taking back the pieces of the profile, Peace Keeper read out loud the most startling piece of the profile. "This part of the profile was added just a few days ago. While the suspect's victimology is focused on people feeling large amounts of negative emotions; observations have shown that with younger victims he projects a somewhat fatherly and protective nature towards them. His understanding of a teenage mind indicates that while he knows about teenage behavior, the use of his akumas speaks of him having a child of his own and that he is likely to be a single parent or divorced."

As soon as she finished reading that one out loud, Dreamwalker's posture changed very subtlety. Her feet shifted a millimeter and her back arched just a little. Her thumb turned as if she was clutching something as her micro expression showed surprise for split second before resuming her neutral stance.

"Ha, ha, ha. Oh, I knew that your profile would be off. I didn't know it would be that far off. I'm the most feared and powerful man in Paris. Your friend shows a lack of intelligent with her wild guesses. It seems your tool is no help at all."

Peace Keeper kept smiling. Looking at everyone, she stated boldly, "I don't hear you denying these accusations, only side stepping them. Also the pitch of your voice is slightly off. That tells my computer you're hiding something." Hawkmoth voice went silent as Dreamwalker fired a nightmare beam only to be blocked by "Ladybug's" yoyo. That was all she needed to confirm the suggestion. The crowed started mumbling as the disguised Kwamiis and Adrien, let the news sink in. Hawkmoth's mask outline started blinking rapidly in fear and acceptance. There was no point in denying it now, not after he ordered Dreamwalker to attack. Gritting his teeth, his sharp voice echoed across the courtyard.

* * *

"Fine, I admit it, I have a child, but really how does that help you now? I'm still the most powerful man in Paris, I can attack anyone and bring them under my control. Your investigation tool can only take you so far," he reminded them. Deep in his lair, Hawkmoth leaned forward on his cane his cold eyes glancing at the clock behind the heroes. In three and half minutes, Paris's heroes, identities would be revealed and his perfect Akuma would finish them off.

Back in the courtyard, "Ladybug" shoved past Peace Keeper and pointed a finger at him. "You are the worst kind of villain ever! You have tortured countless people and betrayed their trust of half this city. Abusing your own Miraculous to accomplish your goals, by stealing from another Miraculous users is wrong!"

"Chat Noir" hissed, his belt tail sticking straight up as he got in a scratching position. "How can someone who has no heart have a child? Do you even care or love him/her? I bet they're nothing but disposable pawns to you!"

"Marinette is near death because of you! How can you not tell she's severely sick and that your akumanzation of her is speeding up the process? In the dream world I thought I sensed some kind of humanity inside you, but you're just a murderer!" Adrien snapped loudly.

In his lair, Hawkmoth was quiet as he contemplated their words. He had brushed off similar semantics before. His needs were more important than what everyone else wanted. Besides, the girl didn't want to be cured. She had even stated she stay his Akuma until she died!

" _Which is sooner than you think! She has tonight and maybe tomorrow, before she suffers brain damage that will lead her to her death!"_

" _Nooroo! How dare you take that tone with me! When this is over you are going to suffer for helping the enemy. You think I'm cruel now? Wait until after I finish with you later."_

" _I DON'T CARE! DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH ME, BUT I REFUSE TO BE THE CAUSE OF A TEENAGE GIRL'S DEATH!"_

 _Hawkmoth was taken about a bit by the force of Nooroo's voice. The little Kwamii had never raised his voice once since he came into his position. Nooroo was always fearful and timid, cringing at each threat. Even when he was starving he never talked like this. "How dare you yell at your master?!"_

" _Master, you have done horrible things and destroyed lives. Your quest will only lead to more suffering. I can't stop you from doing any of it. The heroes and the_ _ **boy**_ _understand that, but are you willing to cross a line that you can't undo? Do you think_ _ **she**_ _would be proud of you with the blood on your hands after causing the death of another?"_

 _Hawkmoth wanted to argue that it wasn't his fault that Marinette was sick or that she wanted to stay an akuma. It wasn't his responsibility to ensure the girl got better. Through his link with Nooroo and his victim he felt their emotions, the pain, anger, the resolve and love. It came crashing down all around him at once._

At the school with two and half minutes left on the clock Peace Keeper's noticed another shift in Dreamwalker's body language. It indicated something was changing. Taking a chance she walked straight over and clasped her hands around Dreamwalker's. "It's finally sinking in isn't it? You have a dozen excuses, but none of them matter if you cross the line, one that would change everything in Paris."

Dreamwalker's hands trembled as her entire body started to shake. A wild expression in her eyes darting to the sky indicated she was looking for a way out. She freed her hands and started to lift off only for Peace Keeper to grab her arm and made her look at her parents.

"Listen up Hawkmoth, as a parent yourself do really want Marinette's parents suffer the loss of child? It will kill them inside for all eternity." She glanced back at the parents who were crying and holding onto one another. Sabine could barely stand as Tom was praying under his breath for a miracle.

"You are the only one who can save Marinette's life and thousands of others. Nothing we do can change who you are, but just this one time, please do the right thing."

All was silent as another thirty seconds passed. They were down to one minute, with anxious expressions on their faces. The butterfly mask around Dreamwalker's face slowly started to fade. "One time I'll be the hero, don't expect it ever again." With that said, the mask disappeared completely as a black butterfly emerged from Dreamwalker's head. With not much time left "Ladybug" caught the akuma and de-deevilized it, (with PK's help), and released Miraculous Ladybug as the loveliness of ladybugs went all over the city healing the people and fixing the damage.

Dreamwalker melted away revealing a feverish and sickly looking Marinette. An ambulance had already been summoned as they took the young lady away, the EMTs already calling ahead to let the doctors know to prepare for emergency surgery. A quick call and Adrien, Alya, and Nino, got picked up by the Gorilla and heading for the same hospital as the trio of heroes vanished into the night.

* * *

By the time they arrived at the hospital, (the same one where this all started), Marinette had be whisked off for emergency surgery. Her parents had gone up to the surgical floor to wait in the lobby and see if they could get some information about their daughter's condition.

Nino and Alya stood next to Gorilla as an emergency room nurse looked over Adrien's sprained ankle. "You're very lucky young man. You have a Grade II sprain. Did you know RICE or did someone else tell you what to do?" The nurse asked him curiously.

"My rescuers treated me. I did rest for a while, but then I went back to the school because I was worried about my friends."

"That would explain the slight increase in swelling. You need to keep off that foot for at least a week or two if you want it to heal properly." She reset the brace so it would compress the limb better. "Come back in two weeks and a doctor will check you over. No modeling or strenuous activity for a least a month understand?"

Adrien nodded and looked up at the Gorilla, who nodded and left the ER to make a call to Natalie and his father. Nino and Alya looked relieved to know he would be okay. The teen model asked if there was any way he could go up to the surgical floor to be with his friends parents until she came out of surgery. The nurse got him a special wheelchair and the teens went up to support their friend.

Upon reaching the surgical floor lobby, they saw an anxious Sabine glancing at the clock as Tom paced around, upset with himself for not noticing there was a problem with Marinette earlier. Maybe then their daughter wouldn't be in emergency surgery. The doctors didn't really have time to explain only that they would be replacing both of Marinette's eardrums and getting rid of the abscesses in her brain.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Dupain. I hope you don't mind if we wait with you," Alya asked timidly.

Sabine assured them that it was more than fine that the three of them were here. Marinette would be devastated if they hadn't come to check on her. There added company would ease the anxiety of waiting for her daughter to come out of surgery.

They had only been waiting for twenty minutes, when Adrien spotted a familiar face of a techie walking past the group. Peace Keeper, once more disguised as "Irene Tapia" made her way past the group and stumbled a bit in front of Adrien. "Sorry about that young man. I hope I didn't jar your leg," as she discreetly returned the Miraculouses and the Kwamiis to him. The teen assured her it was fine. "Irene" walked away leaving the group to their pondering.

Thirty minutes later Nathalie arrived and told Adrien it was time to go. Not wanting to make a scene, he asked Nino to push him into a semi large unisex bathroom. Leaving his buddy alone with his "posse" Nino couldn't help himself as he started to eavesdrop.

The voices were a bit muffled and they were talking softly, only for his bro to raise his voice with increasing volume. Nathalie kept insisting that Adrien needed to go home and get some proper rest. Adrien's own personal physician wanted to look over his ankle to see if the diagnosis was correct or if they could speed up the healing.

Adrien voice was suddenly loud enough to hear clearly. "For the last time Nathalie, I'M NOT LEAVING! I don't care what Father wants or thinks. My friend, someone I really care about, is in an operating room fighting for her life! Waiting for me at home is nothing, but coldness and furious lecture from Father that I don't need to hear at the moment. Marinette, her parents, they need me here now to help them stay strong. Do what you have to do, but I'm not leaving!"

The teen boy wheeled himself out the bathroom and Nino pushed him back to the waiting area where the rest of the class showed up. Even Chloe had and appeared to be worried for Marinette's health. Sabrina and Rose were passing out snacks to everyone and Juleka had gotten some drinks to share.

Alix, Kim, and Max had brought a few comfortable pillows to help everyone relax a bit better. Nathanial sat with Mylene and Ivan helping to design and write the best get well card ever. Nino would periodically go see if there was any word on Marinette's condition, while Alya and he kept the Dupains' company.

The true surprise came two hours later, when Gabriel Agreste appeared hopped off the elevator looking at his son. Adrien tensed waiting for his father to lecture him or drag him away. Instead, he simply smiled at his son and took a seat next to him, joining the waiting crowd. It shocked everyone, especially Adrien that his reclusive father would show up to support him, especially in these circumstances.

* * *

Finally, after seven hours, the surgeon came out of the operating room. Everyone tensed as Sabine and Tom stood up ready to hear what the he had to tell them about their daughter's condition. Taking a deep breath he told them the news everyone wanted to here. "Your daughter Marinette has made it through surgery." The shouts of joy filled the lobby as tears sprang from Sabine and Tom's eyes. The doctor asked everyone to calm down so he could deliver the rest of the news.

"It was very touch and go for a while. Our team had to do two simultaneous Tympanoplasty operations to repair the damage to her eardrums. The team was able to save her hearing and there were no complications that would leave her with facial damage. After doing a CT scan, my team located two very small abscesses near the edge of brain closest to the ears. I performed a simple aspiration, using burr holes to drain out the puss and sealed the holes back up. During the procedure we transfused her with red blood cells and plasma to help her immune system start to clear out the infection. I put her one high dose antibiotic drip to prevent any more infections and repair the remainder of the abscesses."

"How long will she needed to stay in the hospital? Do you think there will be any complications?"

"When can she resume normal activities such a school, or doing activities with her friends?"

The doctor looked thoughtful for a few seconds before replying. "Because of the double procedures and the transfusion I believe that it would be best if Marinette stays her for about three to four weeks. Usually it would longer, but her body is recovering at a remarkable pace. Your daughter is a real fighter."

The parents agreed and asked if they could see their daughter, who was in the surgical recovery wing. The staff had used some sedatives to help her get some real sleep and wouldn't wake up until tomorrow afternoon. She could start to have limited visits in about five days as long as everyone took precautionary methods. He took the Dupains' towards the recovery room and everyone in the lobby cheered again and started heading home as they discussed a visitation chart.

Adrien was quiet on the way home, not wanting to risk his father's wraith. Gabriel Agreste was not known to do something out of character and his son felt that he had used up his one chance to disobey his father. Upon arriving home, the Gorilla helped lift Adrien's wheelchair up the stairs into the main foyer. Once that was done he left father and son alone.

Adrien's head drooped knowingly. "I'm sorry about yelling at Nathalie and that I put myself at risk by taking part in a ceremony that could have left me dead, but I won't apologize about doing those things because it was to help Marinette."

Gabriel didn't say anything just kept staring at his son. Placing a hand on his son's shoulder he spoke. "I am angry that you got yourself hurt and ignored the danger to yourself. Your behavior towards Nathalie was reprehensible." Closing his eyes for a second he took a deep breath and continued. "Yet, I understand what motivated you and why you took the risks you did. I would have done the same for your mother."

Adrien looked up at his father in surprise. Mr. Agreste almost never talked about his wife, because it was painful for him. Looking up at the painting of his beloved something briefly changed in his expression, as if he was really happy or experiencing something he hadn't experienced, in a long time.

Turning to his son, he spoke with a gentle tone. "How long have you been in love with Ms. Dupain-Cheng? Does she reciprocate your feelings? More importantly what drew you to her and vice versa?"

Blushing furiously Adrien admitted he had a huge crush on her when they first met. The more they talked or did things together he started to understand that he was truly in love with her and she felt the same with him. He smiled recalling all those times she tripped up or tried to talk to him and realizing how oblivious he had been.

It wasn't until he saw her as Akuma victim that he realized how deeply is feelings went for her. "She's the kindest, selfless, and most optimistic person I've ever met. She works hard both in her family's bakery and on her designs. Marinette is a capable leader able to stand up for herself and others without being afraid to let someone know they've gone too far. No matter what the situation is she will help someone when they need it. She sees the real me and loves me for being me."

Mr. Agreste listen to his son's words contemplating them. Knowing that his son truly loved this girl wasn't something he expected until much later from the boy. He assumed that he would have to pick someone to keep him safe, but now he wasn't so sure.

"We'll discuss this more at breakfast tomorrow along with altering your schedule to help your ankle heal. Do you need help getting up the stairs?" Adrien nodded and finally made it back to his room, on his crutches, with his father's help. Seems tomorrow would be a big day.

* * *

The next few days were filled with chaos as the city slowly started to return to normal. There had been no signs of Hawkmoth or his new akumas. The video taken at the school during the final confrontation, had been erased and any information on it, had been deleted from the Internet. Many witness had amnesia and were unable to recall what exactly happened during the confrontation. Once again a cover up had been used to keep the UN secret under wraps much to Alya's frustrations.

Peace Keeper knew that the Security Council would have words with her about her actions, especially about how she publicly announced herself. At the moment she didn't care. Marinette was finally strong enough for her to have visitors. Adrien had been at the top of the list after her parents and Alya. To Adrien's pleasant surprise, she had figured out he was Chat Noir, meaning there were no more secrets.

Marinette had propped herself up against her pillow and was sniffing the food that the nurse had brought her to eat. Adrien had wheeled over to her bedside to help her eat. "Irene" had slipped in the room as a tech fixing the TV in the room. It was the first time they were all in the same room since before they realized that Marinette was infected and everyone knew who the other one was.

"I can't believe…I was…an akuma. What if he's still connected to my mind and can hear and see through me still?" Marinette asked as she stabbed her fork into some lumpy potatoes. When she was under his control, did he learn she was Ladybug?!

"Princess, you don't have to worry about anything. He never learned your secret the entire time you were under his control, your thoughts never betrayed you. He let you go and you were thoroughly cleansed." Her blue eyes gazed into his green eyes before she leaned into him and he squeezed her hand. "You're free Marinette, I promise." Lifting a glass of juice to his girlfriend's lips she took a small sip.

Finishing with the TV, "Irene" sat down in the chair on the opposite side of Marinette and pulled her Kwamii Charm Necklace out showing the unnatural glow to Nooroo's charm. "Hawkmoth won't be trying anything for a time. Nooroo's gamble paid off. I now control half of his power, including total domain over the dream abilities and persona based akuma creations." Holding the charms in her hands she knew with total confidence that Nooroo would be okay.

"With Nooroo's power split between his Miraculous and Kwamii Charm, Hawkmoth has no choice, but to take better care of his little Kwamii if he wants to maintain his normal powers." Tikki and Plagg poked their heads out of Adrien's jacket before hovering over to her assuring that one day Nooroo would be free to take his power back.

"How much longer until we can be together again Tikki? I miss you and feel naked without my earrings."

Tikki rubbed Marinette's cheek reminding her that they needed to wait until the doctors checked to make sure the grafts were holding in her ear and the abscesses have not returned. "Once you're discharged you're still going to have to avoid sneezing and getting water in your ears for the next three months."

"Not to mention, figure out way to be Ladybug if you're needed before the doctor, gives the okay for you to swing around with my kitten," Plagg pointed out. Peace Keeper assured the two heroes, she already had thought of that and "Irene's" friend Melissa had come up with a solution that would be waiting for Marinette when she got home.

Both Adrien and Marinette held hands and thanked the young woman for all her help. Peace Keeper was a little surprised when they extended their hands to her finally including her in the team, trusting that she would always be there when they needed her help. Peace Keeper vowed to be a good partner and be more open to them with her own activities. After wishing them good luck with their new relationship she left the hospital.

* * *

Master Fu was waiting for her at the loft having already packed half her stuff for departure. "Thanks for your help. I have to depart for New York in two hours. The Security Council's permanent members want to discuss my actions." Taking out her magic supplies and securing them safely, she kept talking saying that she had a plan to get out of trouble.

Wayzz levitated over and settled on her right shoulder. She tickled his chin, making the Kwamii laugh. Master Fu walked up behind her and gave her an affectionate hug. "I take it the balance is back to normal?" The little turtle nodded saying how proud he was off her.

Master Fu cleared his throat and held out a gift to her. Undo the wrapping she was surprised to it was a picture of when she was a little girl with Master Fu and a recent picture of her with him in her real form. "How did you?"

"I still have a few secrets my Apprentice. You have shown that you have the strength and will to make the hard choices, but the flexibility and hope to create a miracle." Seeing her puzzled expression he informed her throughout the known history of the Guardians and Miraculouses; had anyone convinced another Miraculous user to stop misusing their power and regain a part of their humanity and hope that one day they do the right thing with their Miraculous.

"You are unique my Apprentice and one day in the future, you'll not only protect world peace, but help make sure it last." He glanced at his watch wishing he had more time spend with his Apprentice. "I hope you can visit again Peace Keeper, you are a catalyst in this fight."

"I know that Master Fu. I'll be back and by the way, could you go back to calling me Ning Sun? I think that would make a great real name for me instead of an alias."

It was a new start for everyone. Master Fu's power was returning, Peace Keeper had progressed greatly with her apprentice training. Adrien and Marinette knew the truth and would make a great couple. Hawkmoth would be easier to deal with. No one knew the next crises would arise sooner than expected, as back in the Miraculous Box, the Fox Miraculous glowed and shook about.


End file.
